National Salvation Front will support Al-Sisi if he runs for president in Egypt

The head of el-Wafd Party and a leading member of the National Salvation Front, has said that his opposition group will support the coup’s leader, defence minister, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, if he runs for the presidential elections scheduled for next year.

In an interview with the UAE-based news station, Sky News Arabia, Badawi said that the Salvation Front, which played a role in intensifying the protests against President Mohammed Morsi before his ouster on July 3, “would support Al-Sisi because they [the Front] are part of the Egyptian people and there is a sweeping popular will in his favour.”

El-Badawi, who was on a visit to the United Arab Emirates with an Egyptian delegation of politicians and activists, called on the Muslim Brotherhood to “restore their status by participating in the political process rather than through escalation in the streets.” This was in reference to the possibility of their participation in parliamentary elections preceding the presidential elections, noting that “the escalation now is considered (to be) political foolishness.”

“Neither America, nor Europe, nor any state could change the reality in Egypt. From now on, no one can impose anything on the Egyptians,” he added.

El-Badawi stressed the importance of the political front’s role, through its participation in the road map, the presence of representatives in the constitution drafting committee and the formation of an electoral alliance to participate in the parliamentary elections.

El-Badawi believes that after that road map is completed by the parliamentary and presidential elections, security and stability will return to the Egyptian streets. “There is terrorism in Egypt but, it is blockaded in the Sinai and the army is confronting it.”