Politics
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has announced that he will step down in 2030 after completing his current presidential term and that the constitution will not be amended to extend his rule.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has announced that he will step down in 2030 after completing his current presidential term and that the constitution will not be amended to extend his rule. Sisi said he had already made it clear that the Egyptian Constitution would not be altered. “If I am still alive, the period up to 2030 will be my final term as president,” he said, adding that the matter had been definitively settled and would no longer be open to debate. The 71-year-old president made these remarks on Saturday while addressing a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital near Cairo.
Sisi announced that a new generation of leaders would be prepared to lead the country by 2030. To achieve this goal, a special 30-month leadership program will be launched at the military academy. The program will be open to PhD holders and qualified individuals from Egyptian and foreign universities, who will receive training in state affairs, resource management, and governance. “I will not leave the Egyptian state until it is filled with sons and daughters capable of assuming this responsibility,” Sisi said. A committee headed by the speaker of parliament will be established to oversee the initiative. It will include intellectuals, politicians, the minister of higher education, and the minister of justice.
Sisi’s statement comes amid speculation on social media and in political circles that the government might introduce another constitutional amendment to make him eligible for a fourth presidential term. Egypt’s current constitution was adopted in 2014, following the military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. It originally limited presidents to two four-year terms. A referendum in 2019 extended presidential terms from four to six years and introduced a transitional provision that allowed Sisi to run for a third term.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s National Defence Council has approved the deployment of Egyptian troops to Saudi Arabia on a defence mission. An Egyptian member of parliament announced on Sunday that parliament would convene an emergency session to consider the deployment. Mustafa Bakri, a member of the House of Representatives, wrote on X that the council had approved both the deployment and the mission assigned to the troops during a meeting chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The parliamentary session was scheduled for Sunday, October 18, at 1 p.m. Cairo time, under the chairmanship of Speaker Hisham Badawi. A statement issued by the Egyptian presidency following the meeting reaffirmed Egypt’s support for Saudi Arabia’s security but did not explicitly announce the deployment of troops. The statement outlined three commitments: solidarity with the kingdom, providing all possible and necessary assistance for its defence, and intensifying diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions.
The parliamentary session followed Sisi’s request on Saturday for authorization to take measures to defend Saudi Arabia in response to a request from the kingdom. Addressing a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy, Sisi said Egypt was prepared to take any steps requested by Saudi Arabia to protect its security and sovereignty. He emphasized that any action would be defensive in nature and would be undertaken at Saudi Arabia’s request, in accordance with the wishes of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
