Egypt Presidential Election Set for May 26, 27

Local Editor

Egypt is to hold a presidential election on May 26-27, 10 months after the Brotherhood President Mohammed Mursi was toppled from the presidency, the electoral commission announced on Sunday.

Retired army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is widely expected to win the vote riding on a wave of popularity for having removed the divisive president last July.
The election would go into a second round on June 16-17 if there was no outright winner, but that outcome seems unlikely given al-Sisi's popularity and the absence of serious contenders.

The only other main candidate is leftwing politician Hamdeen Sabbahi, who came third in the 2012 election that Mursi won. The new president will be announced by June 26 at the latest.
The commission said registration of candidates would open on Monday and run until April 20, and campaigning from May 3-23.
The announcement of the dates by electoral chief Ashraf al-Asy came after al-Sisi resigned as defense minister and army commander last week to contest the election, pledging to eradicate "terrorism."
Egypt has been rocked by often violent protests and a spate of militant attacks which have killed almost 500 people, mostly policemen and soldiers, the government says.

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, blacklisted as a "terrorist organization", has said there can be no stability under al-Sisi as president, accusing him of having staged a coup against Egypt's first freely elected and civilian president.

The Brotherhood supporters have vowed to continue protests, which along with persistent militancy, threaten to further damage the country's already battered economy.
On Sunday, a student was killed at al-Azhar university in Cairo in clashes between protesters and security forces, official daily al-Ahram reported on its website.

The student's death comes two days after five people, including an Egyptian journalist, were killed in clashes between Islamists and police in Cairo.

In Sinai, militants killed a soldier on Sunday, security officials said.
Al-Sisi has vowed to restore law and order and address the teetering economy, in turmoil since a popular uprising overthrew veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
He is supported by a broad range of liberal and nationalist parties.

The retired field marshal has said there will be no return to the corruption and human rights violations of the Mubarak era.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team