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Egypt: Four countries to be excluded from Al-Sisi's inauguration

June 5, 2014 at 10:01 am

The Egyptian authorities have sent invitations to major world leaders to attend Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi’s inauguration as the new president of Egypt, excluding four countries, Pls48.net news website and other media reported.

According to Egyptian sources, the excluded states are Qatar, Turkey, Israel and Tunisia.

Qatar, Turkey and Tunisia all opposed the July 3 military ouster of Egypt’s freely elected President Mohamed Morsi.

The Egyptian authorities sent invitations to the leaders of some 22 countries to attend the ceremony, which will be held next Sunday after Al-Sisi takes the national oath, according to the Anadolu Agency.

Among the invited countries that have agreed to attend are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Palestine, Iran, Russia, the US, South Africa, and a number of the Nile Basin countries, including Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan and Nigeria.

The sources added that an invitation to South Africa comes within the framework of Egypt’s efforts to restore its membership to the African Union.

South Africa had previously refused to receive an official delegation from Egypt during the funeral of its prominent anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.

Al-Sisi won the presidency with almost 97 per cent of the vote, similar to the results of the referendums that Egyptian dictators Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak won in the past.

Furthermore, many observers have cast doubts over the voter turnout announced by the Presidential Election Commission after an extra day of voting was introduced at the last minute and photos showed empty polling stations throughout the three days of voting.