AFP – Egypt, which holds a presidential election from tomorrow to December 12, has been ruled by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since 2014.
Running for what would be his third term, here is a look back at his presidency: On May 28, 2014, former army chief and defence minister Sisi cruises to an election victory, becoming president with nearly 97 per cent of the vote.
With the opposition stamped out ahead of the election, turnout is low. Sisi had already been running the country for nearly a year after leading the army’s overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president.
Sisi launches a bloody campaign to crack down on dissent.
Towards the end of 2015, a new Parliament is elected, stacked with loyalist MPs.
In the decade of Sisi’s rule, Egypt has experienced a string of terror attacks, mainly by the Islamic State group (IS), often targeting security forces in the northeastern Sinai Peninsula or Egypt’s religious minority.
In 2015, 224 passengers are killed in a Russian Airbus A321 crash for which IS claims responsibility.
Two years later two IS-claimed attacks target Coptic Christian churches at Tanta and Alexandria in the north, leaving 45 dead.
And in the deadliest attack in Egypt’s recent history, gunmen open fire in a Sinai mosque killing more than 300 worshippers in 2017. IS is suspected, but never claims responsibility.
In 2018, the army launches a large-scale operation against IS in northern Sinai and has since largely quelled the insurgency.
In March 2018, Sisi is re-elected with 97.08 per cent of the vote. His only “opponent” is an ardent supporter.
