February 5, 2019
Field Marshall el-Sisi of Egypt plans to stay in power until 2034
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Amid unprecedented crackdown on opposition, US Client President of Egypt, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, plans to stay in power till 2034 by pushing constitutional changes.
el-Sisi came to power in June 2013, after he led the military to oust the first democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi.
Amnesty International has warned that Egyptians are facing an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's administration, saying the North African state has today turned into an "open-air prison" for dissidents.
Under the Sisi administration, "Egypt has been converted into an open-air prison for critics," Amnesty said in a statement on January 25, on the eve of the country's National Police Day, adding, "The space for dissent "is being crushed out of existence."
January 25 also marks the start of the 2011 revolution, which led to the ouster of former US client dictator, Hosni Mubarak.
"Today, it is more dangerous to openly criticize the government in Egypt than at any other time in the country's recent history," Najia Bounaim, Amnesty's North Africa Campaigns director said.
Amnesty further said Egyptian authorities had arrested at least 113 people in the course of 2018 for "peacefully expressing their views."
Not surprisingly, in recent months, speculation has been building that Sisi is seeking amendment to the constitution so that he can stay in power once his second term ends in 2022.
The changes include an extension of the presidential term from four years to six years in Article 40, and a "transitional" clause that would potentially allow Sisi to stay in power until 2034.
A 16-member opposition bloc in parliament held a press conference to condemn the proposed changes, saying they abolished the principal gain of the January 25, 2011 uprising, the changeover of civilian power.
One lawmaker, Haitham al-Hariri, slammed the proposals as a "coup against the Egyptian constitution."
"We were naive to think that they would only extend the presidential term limits," he said, referring to the plan to give the president new powers.
The proposed amendments also give the president new powers over appointing judges and the public prosecutor.
Some Egyptians have been angered by the draft amendments. They have taken to social media to slam the proposals.
The hashtag "No to changing the constitution" was the top trending topic on Twitter, with more than 26,000 tweets.
"The proposed amendments don't come as a surprise, they are a continuation of what we have seen ever since Sisi came to power, or a continued expansion of his powers as well as consolidation of that power," Timothy Kaldas of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy said.
Human rights groups have regularly criticized Sisi's government for cracking down on opposition activists and supporters of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, which has been banned in the country.
Amnesty International
As army chief, Sisi led a military coup against the country’s first-ever democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi -- which had come to power following Mubarak's ouster -- and overthrew him on July 3, 2013.
Human rights groups have regularly criticized Sisi's government for cracking down on opposition activists and supporters of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, which has been banned in the country.
They say the army’s crackdown on the Brotherhood and its supporters has resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 people. About 22,000 others have been arrested, including more than 200 people who have been sentenced to death in mass trials.
Amnesty further said, “Over the past year, people who dared to criticize the government have been arrested and sent to prison, often held in solitary confinement or subjected to enforced disappearances simply for posting their opinions on social media, giving media interviews, denouncing sexual harassment and even for supporting certain football clubs. In some cases, those arrested had done nothing at all."
It also launched an online campaign dubbed "Egypt: Open air prison for critics" in an effort to pile pressure on the Cairo administration to end the crackdown on dissent.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America.
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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