March 27 - April 9, 2014
Weekly Media Monitoring report for Egypt
Posted on April 11, 2014
Contents
Compiled by Vanessa Bassal, MIGS Desk Officer for Egypt
- General Sisi has officially announced his run for Egyptian President
- Terrorist Attacks to continue during the electoral campaign
- Coptic Coalition back General Sisi for President
- Electoral Campaigns have kicked off
- Date set for Egyptian elections à May 26, 2014
- Mortada Mansour announces Presidential Candidacy
General Sisi has officially announced his run for Egyptian President
Privately Owned Media
Egypt Independent (03/26/2014)
- General Sisi has announced his official run for President
- He has promised to fight against ‘terrorist’ threats Egypt has been experiencing since Mohammad Morsi’s downfall as well as battling the increasing unemployment rate
- General Sisi has also resigned as the state’s Defence Minister and interim President, Mehleb, has thanked him for defending the nation
Terrorist Attacks to continue during the electoral campaign
Privately Owned Media
Egypt Independent (03/28/2014)
- The Interior Minister, Mohammad Ibrahim. Has acknowledge the possibility of terrorist attacks during the Egyptian Political campaign as well as on election day
- He has announced however that security measure are being planned and undertaken to avoid such attacks
Coptic Coalition back General Sisi for President
Privately Owned Media
Egypt Independent (03/30/2014)
- The “Coalition of Copts for Egypt” has announced that it will support General Sisi’ run for President
- Reasons
- Patriotic figure
- Has the means to overcome Egypt’s current political, economic and social problems
- He can stop terrorist attacks
Electoral Campaigns have kicked off
Privately Owned Media
Daily News Egypt (04/01/2014)
- The two electoral candidates: General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahy
- General Sisi’s electoral slogan – “Long Live Egypt”
- General Sisi is also using social media applications and websites to further promote his message of Egyptian unity through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
- Sabahy is accusing the General Sisi campaign of using inappropriate means for acquiring popular support of Egyptians.
- Some of Sabahy’s workers were attacked by General Sisi’s supporters, and this caused no reaction on the part of the Egyptian police
- The Revolutionary Front believes that General Sisi’s election will not change the situation in Egypt and that it will only aggravate the situation and make it much worse. The Revolutionary Front also mentioned that General Sisi was responsible for many of the deaths under Tantawi’s government.
- Al- Doustour: General Sisi has the right to run but his campaign should be done without the use of state assets
Date Set for Egyptian Elections
Privately Owned Media
Daily News Egypt (03/30/2014)
- The first round of elections will take place on May 26, 2014 and if a second round is needed, the election will take run through June 16 to June 17, 2014
Mortada Mansour announces Presidential Candidacy
State Owned Media
Al Ahram (04/08/2014)
- Mansour announced that if war was to ensure with Ethiopia over the Renaissance dam, he would ban Facebook and Twitter as a result of internal security issues
- if elected as Egypt's president:
- Plans on cutting foreign aid form the US for Egypt to become more independent and start producing its own goods.
- Mentioned banning alcohol in adherence with Islamic law and limiting the consumption to foreigners in hotels.
- Stated that the Muslim Brotherhood should not be branded as a terrorist organization. However, he plans on removing terrorism in Egypt.
- Protests, sit-ins and strikes will be banned from the country in his first year as president as a result of the poor state of Egypt's economy.
- Willing to declare a war on Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam project, which as its bigger aim reduces Egypt's access to water coming from the Nile.