Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi To Be Sworn In For 3rd Term Today

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be sworn in on Tuesday for a third consecutive term in the new capital being built outside Cairo, government newspaper Al-Ahram confirmed Monday.

In power for over a decade, Sisi “will take the oath of office on the constitution Tuesday in the new parliament premises in the administrative capital”, east of Cairo, Al-Ahram said.

Officially, the 69-year-old Sisi will begin his term on Wednesday, more than three months after he was reelected with 89.6 percent of the vote against three largely-unknown candidates.

The former head of the army and minister of defence, Sisi led the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi following massive popular protests around the country.

His new term of six years is supposed to be his last, according to the constitution.

MP Mustafa Bakri, who is close to the ruling powers, said the government will likely resign after Sisi’s inauguration to allow for a cabinet reshuffle.

The swearing-in comes against the background of a severe economic crisis, with spiralling inflation and a foreign currency shortage that is stifling foreign trade.

In the first trimester of 2024, however, Egypt benefitted from an influx of billions of dollars, of which $35 billion came from the United Arab Emirates, and an increase of $5 billion of an original loan of $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

Sisi’s supporters say the flow of foreign currency will revitalise the economy, but observers are sceptical there will be any improvement without structural reforms to reduce the outsize role of the army and government in the economy.