Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

A coalition of Egyptian opposition parties have on Thursday urged voters to reject the new constitutional amendments that could allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to be in power until 2030.

According to ANI news reports, an official from Karam Party, Abdel-Aziz al-Husseini said, “We want people to go and say no.” The civil democratic movements, as well as, left-wing and liberal parties termed the constitutional amendments as an “assault on democracy”.

According to the new amendments, the president was allowed to be in power for two additional terms, that means, Sisi could govern as president for nearly 11-12 years, as a term includes five to six years of presidential tenure.

Former Democratic party and opposition leader Khaled Dawood has said if the referendum gets passed, “our dream and hope to have a president who is elected once every two terms will come to an end”.

He said, “Unfortunately, the Egyptian regime is not learning from the lessons of 2011 revolutions or experiences in Algeria and Sudan.”

Analysts have also accused the president of misusing state funds and power to embark a crackdown over his political opposition.

Al-Ahram news website and broadcaster Nile TV reported: “The president’s current term shall expire at the end of six years from the date of his election as president in 2018,” adding, “He can be re-elected for another (six-year) term.”

The opposition parties have claimed that they were being stopped from hanging banners on the streets calling out on voters to reject the amendment and stated they have reached out to the public through social media.

The Egyptian parliament has on Wednesday voted to extend Sisi’s presidential term until 2030, while approving constitutional amendments. The changes are expected to be put forth for a public referendum later this month.

 

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