Egypt’s Sisi doesn’t rule out presidential bid

Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the first held open the possibility he might run for the presidency in an interview published on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Gen. Sisi has emerged as a popular figure to many Egyptians and his supporters want him to run for president in an election expected next year after mass protests backed by the military establishment deposed Islamist President Mohammed Mursi on July 3.

Asked by the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Seyassah whether he was a candidate for the presidency, Sisi said: “Would that satisfy all the people? Would that satisfy some of the foreign powers, and does this mean working to find solutions for Egypt’s problems? In any case, let’s see what the days bring.”

None of the candidates defeated by Mursi in last year’s election have announced their participation for the upcoming election, which is expected to take place in around six months’ time.

Sisi, who holds the position of deputy prime minister in the interim administration, is expected to win the presidency if he participates due to his popularity in Egypt.

If he wins, Egypt will return to military rule. Mursi was the first civilian head of state.

On foreign affairs, he said a shift in Egypt’s alliances was “out of the question” in response to speculation that Cairo was distancing itself from
the United States after it suspended military aid.

“It is unwise to have relations with this (state) or that, and to change your alliances because of certain positions. This is not the politics of states,” he told the Kuwaiti newspaper.

Sisi was picked by Mursi as head of the armed forces in August, 2012.

Asked why Mursi had picked him, Sisi said: “It’s God’s will.”

(With Reuters)