Egypt Election: People Head To Polls Amid Gaza Conflict
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Roshan Amiri
- . December 10, 2023
- . Update: December 11, 2023 1:11 pm
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is expected to secure his third term in power in a Sunday presidential election that has come against a backdrop of global attention prominently focused on the bloody conflict in the neighbouring Gaza Strip.
The 69-year-old has largely enjoyed a couple of months of pause in international criticism over his authoritarian rule and increased crackdown on dissent, experts say, attributing the shift to the president’s renewed diplomatic relevance on the global stage.
Palestinian Issue In Discussions
Several top officials have paid Sisi visits since the brutal Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in October, including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
As the Palestinian issue is now prominently back in discussions, “there is a new prioritisation internationally for good and comprehensive contact with Egypt,” said HA Hellyer, non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in London.
Egypt controls the Rafah Border Crossing, the only remaining link between Gaza and the outside world. Egyptian officials have played notable mediation roles in earlier conflicts between Israel and Hamas, as Cairo maintains diplomatic relations with both sides.
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Little To No Opposition
The country has also helped foreign nationals escape the violence in the Palestinian enclave, along with injured Gazans. Relief supplies have also been able to trickle into the strip through Rafah. As per the health ministry in Gaza, at least 17,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian president is moving to potentially secure another term in power amid little to no opposition at home or abroad, according to critics. The former field marshal rose to power in 2013 after overthrowing Mohamed Morsy in a military coup.
