He may win the elections, but will Sisi unite Egyptians?

Will Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi succeed? The question carries several meanings. If we are to begin with the question: will Sisi succeed inthe upcoming presdential elections?, the answer would most probably be known since he’s a popular man with overwhelming Egyptian support.

The next question would then be: will he succeed at uniting rival Egyptian factions? I don't think there's any candidate who enjoys as much popular support as Sisi does. Our hope is that Sisi, if he wins, will be a president who doesn't divide us further.

Will Sisi win the elections? Will he succeed at achieving his electoral program? Will he succeed at creating a new state of progress and development and at leading the country towards what's best and at achieving the Egypt's aspirations? The answers, I believe, will be mostly answered with a yes.

But, will Sisi succeed in achieving the Egyptian dream that the country be developed and progressive with a restored historical status? Will he be capable of leading the people towards creating a new state in which everyone works to help rebuild Egypt? These questions will not only be answered by Sisi's actions but by the Egyptians who must play their part to restore their country.

Saving Egypt

The slogan of the upcoming period must be "saving Egypt." This is the slogan which Sisi must work to achieve and around which he must unite Egyptians.

To achieve this, the people must know that rising with Egypt is not only Sisi's task but the task of every citizen as we must all contribute to building the state.

Three years after draining the country on the political, security and economic levels, the national project which Sisi must adopt for our sake must be "saving Egypt." But this will not happen thanks to a miracle that will fall from the sky but because of the Egyptians' capabilities.

The question of whether Sisi will succeed at leading Egypt towards the best country it can be will not be fully answered unless all the Egyptians unite to achieve our common aspirations.

We have already sensed that Sisi is working in this direction as he previously called on the Egyptians to work together and stated that he will be the first one to work. Nothing will be achieved if we don't unite our efforts and thoughts for the sake of a better future.

Therefore, the question will not be if Sisi can win the elections or succeed in leading Egypt, but rather will the Egyptians, led by Sisi, succeed at creating a new reality for Egypt?

This article was first published in al-Masry al-Youm on March 26, 2014.

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Abdel Latif el-Menawy is an author, columnist and multimedia journalist who has covered conflicts around the world. He is the author of “Tahrir: the last 18 days of Mubarak,” a book he wrote as an eyewitness to events during the 18 days before the stepping down of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Menawy’s most recent public position was head of Egypt’s News Center. He is a member of the National Union of Journalists in the United Kingdom, and the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. He can be found on Twitter @ALMenawy