This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/12/egypt-sisi-president-muslim-brotherhood-morsi
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 4 | Version 5 |
---|---|
Egypt's Sisi says he will step down as president if people rise against him | Egypt's Sisi says he will step down as president if people rise against him |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the former army chief most likely to become Egypt's next president, has said he will resign if his presidency sparks mass protests. | |
"If people go down to protest, I will say: I am at your service," Sisi told Sky News Arabia in an interview broadcast on Sunday. "I can't wait until the army asks me to [resign]." | |
Sisi has one opponent in the runoff, which culminates in a two-day poll on 26-27 May, and is expected to win. | |
His remarks echo those of the man he ousted, Mohamed Morsi. On his election in June 2012, Morsi similarly promised to step down if the masses rose against him, before refusing to resign when millions filled the streets a year later, prompting Sisi to force him from office. | |
Sisi's comments appear at odds with other recent statements, in which he defended a controversial new law that several rights groups say severely curbs the freedom of assembly. Demonstrations put off tourists and harm the country's recovery, Sisi has said. "The right to protest is guaranteed for all but we will not let the country be destroyed." | |
On Sunday, Sisi stressed that he would not seek reconciliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, reiterating comments he made in a previous interview last week, in which he said: "There will be nothing called the Muslim Brotherhood during my tenure." A week on, Sisi repeated that the Brotherhood had tarnished Islam and "need to re-evaluate themselves". | |
He believes religion has a role in public life but argues that the Brotherhood sought to undermine the Egyptian state by establishing an alternative religious power base, and criticises it for doing so. | |
Sisi's rival for the presidency, the leftist and long-time secular dissident Hamdeen Sabahi, has also said his victory would close the door on the Brotherhood. But in other major policy areas, Sabahi has set himself up in opposition to the former army leader – presenting himself as the candidate of the revolution, promising, for example, to repeal the controversial protest law. | |
According to a survey by the Cairo-based polling centre Baseera, 72% of those who intend to vote say they will back Sisi, with 2% supporting Sabahi – though online polling suggests the gap has narrowed in the past week following interviews with both candidates. | |
Sisi said he had plans to improve people's living conditions within two years, but said he would be frank with Egyptians about the extent of their problems. "We say if things go according to our planning, they will see improvements within two years," he said. |