Egyptian army denies supervising Al-Sisi presidential campaign

The Egyptian Armed Forces has denied reports by Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper claiming the engineering authority is supervising the commander of armed forces Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s presidential campaign.

In a statement published on his Facebook page, Armed Forces spokesperson Colonel Ahmed Ali described the newspaper’s claim as “false allegations that have no basis in reality”.

“The claims come as some media outlets target the military and its leaders with false information that is based on false assumptions,” the statement said.

Ali said: “The army’s engineering authority is a part of the Armed Forces General Command and have specific tasks to fulfil and contribute to the development plan of the state through its various competent departments. The authority is neutral and has nothing to do with politics.”

Al-Sisi’s decision to run for president is a personal matter and far from the military establishment’s involvement, Ali said.

The statement called on the media to refrain from spreading rumours and misleading information that aims to undermine the armed forces’ status and to exercise its role in accordance with the constitution.