CAIRO: A political coalition including several high-profile Egyptians sharply criticized President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Friday for a speech in which he warned off anyone seeking to challenge his rule, amid growing calls for a boycott of presidential elections.
Earlier this week, Sisi said additional steps would be taken against anyone looking to upset Egypt’s security and warned that the protests of seven years ago, which toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011, would never happen again.
In a rare public rebuke of El-Sisi’s own remarks, the Civil Democratic Movement called the speech an attempt “to spread fear among Egyptian voters” which “undermines... the integrity of the electoral competition.”
Former military commander El-Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after leading the army to the ousting of hard-line President Mohammed Mursi. He is expected to easily win a vote slated for March 26-28.
The Civil Democratic Movement includes several notable figures, including a former presidential contender as well as Hesham Genena, a former anti-corruption watchdog head who had been campaigning for former military chief of staff Sami Anan, El-Sisi’s top opponent before he was arrested.
The statement follows growing calls to boycott the March vote after all major opposition campaigns withdrew citing intimidation. Anan himself was arrested and halted his presidential bid after the army accused him of breaking the law by running for office without permission.
El-Sisi now faces a single opponent, who is himself El-Sisi supporter, in the March contest.
“Clearing the political space of candidates in the name of preserving security is unconstitutional and does not promote security,” the statement said.
El-Sisi said in the speech that he may call on Egyptians to take to the streets to give him a “mandate” in the face of what he described as “villains,” without specifying who he meant.
“We affirm that states are not run by mandates and the mobilization of supporters in orchestrated gatherings, but rather by constitutions and respect for freedoms,” the statement said.
“Is this a mandate in order to uphold freedoms? Or to crush opposition? Or to violate the constitution?” it said.
Egypt opposition slams El-Sisi’s warning
Egypt opposition slams El-Sisi’s warning
Hundreds mourn in Syria’s Homs after deadly mosque bombing
- Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect
HOMS: Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday despite rain and cold outside of a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs where a bombing the day before killed eight people and wounded 18.
The crowd gathered next to the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al-Dhahab neighborhood, where the population is predominantly from the Alawite minority, before driving in convoys to bury the victims.
Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect.
A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates.
The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.
A neighbor of the mosque, who asked to be identified only by the honorific Abu Ahmad (“father of Ahmad“) out of security concerns, said he was at home when he heard the sound of a “very very strong explosion.”
He and other neighbors went to the mosque and saw terrified people running out of it, he said. They entered and began trying to help the wounded, amid blood and scattered body parts on the floor.
While the neighborhood is primarily Alawite, he said the mosque had always been open to members of all sects to pray.
“It’s the house of God,” he said. “The mosque’s door is open to everyone. No one ever asked questions. Whoever wants to enter can enter.”
Mourners were unable to enter the mosque to pray Saturday because the crime scene remained cordoned off, so they prayed outside.
Some then marched through the streets chanting “Ya Ali,” in reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law whom Shiite Muslims consider to be his rightful successor.
