Egypt announces presidential vote on Dec.10-12

Egypt will hold a presidential vote on Dec.10-12, the election authority said on Monday, with the winner to be announced by Dec.18.

President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, a former army chief, has ruled for nearly a decade in the Arab world's most populous country.

Experts had predicted Sisi would move forward the 2024 election, ahead of a possible switch to a flexible exchange rate that could exacerbate social tensions.

Sisi was first elected in 2014 and then won a 2018 vote in a landslide.

“Presidential hopefuls can apply from October, and the list of candidates is to be finalised by Nov.9,” said Walid Hassan Hamza, chairman of Egypt's National Election Authority.

The vote comes at a time Egypt's currency has lost half its value since March 2022 and inflation reached an all-time high of 39.7 per cent in August.

The government has kept the exchange rate pegged since early this year.

Agence France-Presse