Late president’s nephew pulls out of Egypt polls

By Viola Fahmy

CAIRO (AA) – The nephew of Egypt’s late president Anwar Sadat said Monday he will not run in this year’s presidential election.

“We decided not to participate in the polls,” Mohamed Anwar Sadat told a press conference held in Cairo.

Sadat, a former lawmaker, said he will not be “part of a farce”.

“The polls are not as we hoped for…we will not contest a lost battle,” he said, adding that the current atmosphere in Egypt was not conducive to a competitive election.

He said the presidential vote will be held under a state of emergency, which was declared in April after a twin bombing against churches that killed scores.

Egypt will hold presidential election in March.

The term of incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is set to expire in June of 2018. Though he is widely expected to run for re-election, al-Sisi has not publicly announced his intention to run for the vote.

Last week, former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq withdrew from the polls, saying he was “not the best person to manage the state affairs in the coming period”.

Sadat’s uncle, former president Anwar Sadat, is described by Egyptians as the maker of peace after he led the country during the 1973 war against Israel.

Following the war, he championed peace talks with Israel that eventually led to Egypt regain the Sinai Peninsula, which was occupied by Israel in 1967.