The Facts
Egyptian Pres. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confirmed on Monday that he will run for a third term amid complaints from opposition parties that voters are facing obstacles attempting to register their support for other candidates.
Egypt will conduct presidential elections over three days, between Dec. 10 and 12, with a runoff scheduled from Jan. 8 to 10 if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote.
The Spin
Narrative A
Egypt's upcoming election will be free and fair, as Sisi seeks to rule with popular legitimacy — if he doesn't have it, he will step aside. Though critics of the president unfairly point to the government's economic policies as the cause of the country's crisis, it's quite clear that the pandemic, which hit the tourism sector hard, and the war in Ukraine, which affected the country's exports and imports, are really to blame. This presidential election is a significant step towards building a modern civil democratic state.
Narrative B
Besides the fact that Egypt is a repressive dictatorship under Sisi, it's poorly run and its economic prospects are only declining. Inflation has been raging as food prices skyrocket. Sisi has been making desperate moves to fix the nightmare he has created, such as looking for foreign investment. However, the writing is on the wall: the future of Egypt under Sisi isn't bright, especially given the growing frustration of the Gulf states. Egypt can move forward only under new leadership free of the constricting influence of the military.