Following a 19 July meeting of the National Election Authority’s (NEA) board of directors, the NEA announced that a timetable of the upcoming presidential election will be announced soon.

“The meeting discussed administrative and logistical procedures that need be in place ahead of the upcoming election which will be under full judicial supervision,” said the statement.

The NEA called on media outlets to exercise responsibility and not to give credence to rumours and said it is open to requests from civil society organisations and local and foreign media for permits to monitor and cover the election.

The announcement came a month after President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi named Walid Hassan Hamza, vice president of the Court of Cassation, as the NEA’s new head.

Article 208 of the constitution defines the NEA as an independent body mandated with managing referendums and presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections. Its remit includes preparing and updating voter databases, drawing districts, laying out campaign and finance regulations, supervising election spending and facilitating voting procedures for Egyptian expats. Article 209 states that the NEA’s 10-member board include judges from the courts of cassation and appeal, the State Council, the State Cases Authority and the Administrative Prosecution.

President Al-Sisi has asked the government to study a proposal from the National Dialogue’s Board of Trustees to renew legislation stipulating full judicial supervision of elections and referenda. Dialogue General-Coordinator Diaa Rashwan explained that since Article 210 of the constitution stated judges must supervise elections and referendums for 10 years — from 17 January 2014 to 18 January 2024 — new legislation is needed to extend their supervision.

“The National Dialogue’s Board of Trustees will submit a draft law containing the suggested amendment to President Al-Sisi who will refer it to the House of Representatives for discussion and approval,” said Rashwan.

Dialogue Secretary-General Mahmoud Fawzi further explained that Article 140 limits the presidential term to six years and stipulates that the process to elect a new president must begin at least 120 days before the end of the current presidential term, meaning the process must begin by 1 December 2023 at the latest.

As for the vote, “it should end before 18 January 2024 as this is the end of the 10-year period during which the constitution gives the NEA the power to fully place the election under full judicial supervision,” said Fawzi.

Wafd Party Chairman Abdel-Sanad Yamama is among the figures who say they intend to stand in the forthcoming election.

“I really respect President Al-Sisi, but the fact is that as a long established party we need to compete,” said Yamama.

He rebuked Wafdist colleagues who said his praise of Al-Sisi meant he would be little more than a smokescreen candidate. “I will be a serious candidate and reflect the views of the Wafd Party, Egypt’s oldest opposition party representing liberal democracy and the peaceful rotation of power,” he said.

Hazem Omar, chairman of the People’s Republican Party (PRP) and head of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, will also stand. Two weeks ago, PRP unanimously nominated Omar to run as the party’s official presidential candidate. “Since it was established in September 2012 the PRP adopted a far-sighted policy aimed, among other things, at fielding a presidential candidate within 10 years,” said Omar.

“We will never be intimidated by those who raise doubts about this ambition and who have tried to block our political march,” added Omar. He noted that PRP is the second largest party in terms of the number of MPs and senators.

Galal Haridi, head of Homat Watan (Protectors of the Nation), said on Monday that the party had opted not to field a presidential candidate and instead was calling on President Al-Sisi to run for a third presidential term. “Based on his achievements over the last decade, we have decided President Al-Sisi is the most qualified candidate to lead the country in the coming stage,” said Haridi.

Articles 141 and 142 of the constitution stipulate that a presidential candidate must secure endorsements from 20 MPs or else 25,000 registered voters spread across at least 15 governorates, with a minimum of 1,000 endorsements from each governorate.

Three candidates apart from Yamama and Omar have announced that they will stand: Fouad Badrawi, a former MP and member of the Wafd Party’s Higher Council; Ahmed Al-Fadali, chairman of the Democratic Peace Party; and former MP Ahmed Tantawi.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 27 July, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly