Egypt: Colonel jailed for announcing he will run for president

Colonel Ahmad Konsowa was sentenced to six years in prison by an Egyptian military court yesterday after announcing his intention to run against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in next year’s elections, his defence lawyer told the Associated Press.

Konsawa was convicted of violating military regulations which ban active duty officers from participating in politics, after he announced earlier this month that he would take part in elections that are due to begin from February.

It is believed that Al-Sisi, who was a military general himself before ousting democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi in 2013, will run in the upcoming election and win a second four-year term.

To date, Al-Sisi has yet to formally announce his candidacy; according to the Egyptian constitution, he is entitled to run for a second term. Whilst other candidates have stepped forward, with Al-Sisi’s history of quashing opposition and jailing rival political figures, it remains to be seen if they will follow through with their pledges.

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One potential candidate is former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq who served under deposed President Hosni Mubarak. Shafiq lost the election after Mubarak’s ousting in 2012, and lived in self-imposed exile in the UAE until this month. After announcing his plan to run in the UAE, he was subsequently deported from the Emirates. The UAE has backed Al-Sisi’s brutal authority with billions of dollars.

Human rights lawyer Khaled Ali has also announced that he will take part in the presidential race next year. However, he was subsequently convicted of “violating public decency” for allegedly making an obscene gesture in court, he is appealing the decision. If the verdict is upheld, he could be disqualified from the process.

Another potential candidate is former MP Mohamed Anwar Esmat El-Sadat, the nephew of former president Anwar Sadat. However, he has complained of being unable to run publicity campaigns equal to that of Al-Sisi after “government and security restrictions faced by members of his campaign”.

Campaigns in support of Al-Sisi’s expected bid have already been launched in the country, with Egypt’s so-called “Alashan Tbneeha” (To Build It) movement announcing in October that it had collected over three million signatures from citizens.

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