Road to Egypt’s Presidential Elections: Who was Sadat's Presidential Candidate-X? Open the Post to Find Out – It's Egypt-Level Crazy!

Do you remember that Presidential candidate who Mohamed Sadat spoke about several months ago!?

Do you remember how he said that this presidential candidate is from a military background and the civilian political powers as well as the Civil Democratic Movement had talks about him?

Mohamed Sadat stated that this presidential candidate X was having a thought about whether to run in Egypt’s upcoming presidential elections in 2024 or in 2023 according to Bloomberg.

People guessed names but he refused to confirm or deny. There was one single name floating around, but people did not believe it because it is unbelievable when you think about it. Belal Fadl said the name on his hit YouTube show on his popular YT channel, but I could not believe it because it was crazy.

Hisham Kassem , Emad Gad and Candidate X 

Prominent Egyptian political Emad Gad published on his official Facebook account on Thursday a post calling President Abdel El-Fattah El-Sisi not to run for another presidential period thanking him for what he has done in the past year.

"The upcoming president will be a transitional leader, followed by a civilian president after opening up the public sphere, allowing freedom for political parties, and abolishing parties based on religious grounds according to the constitution. Then, the trust between civilian political leaders and state institutions and their agencies will be built.” Gad said.

“General Mahmoud Hegazy is the ideal president for Egypt in the coming phase." He said adding that the desired change will not happen overnight but requires a transitional phase, as political evolution will be achieved gradually, not in a leap.

Yes, he suggested former General Mahmoud Hegazy be elected or rather appointed as a transitional president instead of El-Sisi.

Yes, the Former chief of staff turned out to be Candidate X which some of the so-called liberal politicians like Sadat and Gad thought about as an alternative for Sisi.

I do not know how to say it but here is another fact.

El-Sisi and Hegazy are in-laws. Hegazy’s daughter is married to El-Sisi’s son. “Wikipedia’s info on Hegazy’s family is completely wrong. It is his daughter who is married to El-Sisi’s son whereas El-Sisi’s daughter is married to the son of the South Sinai governor.”

Yup, in-laws and that’s what I meant by Egypt-level crazy.

Hegazy is among the original 2011 SCAF members along with Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. I won’t deny that he is highly respected by many, especially after his dismissal in October 2017 following the Wahat terrorist attack.

Some thought that he was a potential rival, but those people forgot that he had played a role in the talks of the Libyan tribes and powers in Cairo even after his dismissal.

“We do not want the continuation of current policies, nor a repeat of the experience of an outsider president, as happened in 2012." The political analyst said in his post that went viral in the past 48 hours.

“We want a transitional phase led by someone from within the state institutions. We want a president who can collaborate with the state institutions and its agencies.” He added.

Either way, Mahmoud Hegazy can't run for office except after the approval of the army and we all remember how it went for Sami Anan. 

I am realistic and I know the way to reforms in Egypt will need a transitional period that needs someone like Adolfo Suarez and unfortunately, I can’t find a similar character.

I understand from what Emad Gad speaks about but if he wants the military to return to the barracks like their broken promise in July 1952 then we need military like Khaled Mohi El-Din or at least Tharwat Okasha or even Kamel El-Din Hussein.

That kind of officer ironically was a direct product of Egypt’s short-lived liberal era following the 1919 Revolution.

Emad Gad is among the co-founders and members of the Liberal Free Current that was launched in June by Egyptian liberal parties and figures including outspoken publisher Hisham Kassem.

The Liberal Free Current issued a statement on Friday distancing itself from Gad’s suggestion.

"The Free Current emphasizes its initial stance on the presidential elections, which is the necessity of having essential guarantees to ensure the integrity of the elections, including the voting and counting process, media neutrality, and non-interference by security forces.” The new political power said in its statement echoing the stances of many in Egypt.

“It's worth mentioning that none of the required guarantees have been met so far, and we fear that they are unlikely to be met, further reinforcing our decision not to participate.” The Free Current said adding that in the absence of those guarantees, the entire process is deemed unworthy of participation.

On Saturday, the Cairo Misdemeanor Court sentenced Hisham Kassem to 6 months in prison and a LE 20,000 fine for insulting former Labor Minister and leftist Nasserite activist Kamel Abu Eita and the policemen of a police station.

Kassem at court on Saturday "Gameela Ismail"

Kassem’s lawyers are going to appeal the verdict.

On Sunday the Free Liberal Current issued another statement announcing that its members withdrew from any current political activity temporarily to object to Kassem’s ruling. The Current also announced that there will be no candidate in the upcoming presidential elections.

“It's important to note that Professor Hisham Kassem was a potential presidential candidate if the fundamental electoral assurances were met.” The statement added saying at the same time that member parties of the current are free to choose their position from the elections.

The Constitution Party led by Gameela Ismail will determine its position next Wednesday following its board meeting. If the party finds that “fundamental electoral assurances are met”, it is possible that we can find Ismail running in the Presidential elections.

Similarly, regarding the Egyptian Democratic Social "EDS" Party, its leadership will decide its stance this week, and there is a strong possibility that we may witness the current party president, Farid Zahran, running for the presidential position.

The situation is analogous to the Egyptian Democratic Social "EDS" Party. Its leadership will determine its position this week, and we could likely see the current party president, veteran leftist writer Farid Zahran, running for the presidential position.

We will see what will happen this week because it seems interesting by all measures.

Up till now, I have not talked about Ahmed Tantawy again despite there is a lot of noise and controversies about him. Next time inshallah in the upcoming dispatch about the Egyptian Presidential elections.