On Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced that he will run for a third term in office.
"I have decided to nominate myself to complete the dream during a new presidential term [...] I call on all Egyptians to participate in this democratic scene to choose with their patriotic conscience who is worthy," el-Sisi said during a televised speech.
Thousands of Egyptians gathered in several squares in the North African country to show their support for el-Sisi's candidacy for a third term in office as the announcement came.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi won the presidential elections in 2014. In 2018, he was re-elected to a second term. In both elections, el-Sisi received around 97% of the vote.
Later in 2019, the presidential terms were changed from four to six years by Egypt's Parliament, which also allowed the current president to run for a third term.
Egypt will hold a presidential election from December 10 to 12, as the chairman of the country's National Election Authority recently announced. Besides el-Sisi, seven other political figures announced their plans to run. Until October 14, candidates have the opportunity to apply for candidacy to run in the elections.
According to reports, around 65 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the presidential elections. The winner will be declared on December 18, 2023.