Egypt’s Sisi sworn in for 3rd term

Egypt’s Sisi sworn in for 3rd term

The 69-year-old is set to remain president until 2030 after winning a December election with 89.6% of the vote.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s six-year term is set to be his last unless he ushers through a constitutional amendment prolonging his tenure. (Pool/AP pic)
CAIRO:
Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in today before parliament for his third term in office as leader of the Arab world’s most populous country.

In power for the past decade, Sisi is set to remain president until 2030, after winning a December election with 89.6% of the vote against three relative unknowns.

The six-year term is set to be the 69-year-old’s last unless he again ushers through a constitutional amendment prolonging his tenure.

The oath also marked the inauguration of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, located in the desert east of Cairo, local media reported.

Sisi rose to power on the back of mass protests against Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, who was deposed in 2013.

Sisi was elected president the following year and then again in 2018, both times with around 97% of the vote.

For the past two years, his administration has struggled to contain the fallout of a punishing economic crisis that has seen the currency lose two-thirds of its value and inflation soar to a record 40% last year.

In the first quarter of 2024, however, Egypt saw an influx of over US$50 billion in loans and investment deals, which Cairo has said will ease dire foreign currency shortages and revitalise the economy.

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