Following presidential elections in December, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has been reelected with 89.6 percent and secured himself another six years in office – made possible through his 2019 constitutional amendment which increased the presidential term from four to six years, and allowed Sisi to exceptionally serve a third presidential term, rather than be limited to two. Throughout the electoral period, opposition candidates were severely marginalized; campaign members and supporters were targeted for arrest and those seeking to endorse them were obstructed from doing so. As the vote took place, violations, including widespread bribery and coercion of voters were reported. The state’s harassment of journalists continued unabated and the media coverage remained heavily constricted with little space for news content that didn’t endorse the incumbent. The vote took place in the context of and on the heels of a superficial national dialogue, continued human rights abuses, and severe attacks on freedom of expression.
Under Sisi’s rule, Egypt’s external debt has skyrocketed to nearly $165 billion as of June 2023 and Egyptians have increasingly struggled to afford basic commodities. Food inflation in 2023 alone reached 64 percent, placing Egypt among the countries with the most severe food inflation in the world. Rather than deliver a coherent policy response, authorities have used the public funds and unsustainable borrowing for extravagant infrastructure projects that have displaced low-income families, altered Egypt’s urban landscape, and played a central role in the country’s economic crisis. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has also created a precarious regional situation, as Sisi makes firm his rejection of relocating Gazans to Sinai, while playing a delicate balance between allowing some very select forms of state-sanctioned protests of Israel’s actions from the public so long as it does not escalate to criticism of the regime.
With another six years under Sisi’s rule ahead, what developments can we expect in Egypt’s future? What might the trajectory of the country look like? On January 30, 2024, the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) hosted a discussion with Timothy Kaldas (TIMEP), Lobna Darwish (EIPR), Marc Ayoub (TIMEP), and Omnia Khalil (CUNY) to examine where Egypt stands today and what six more years of Sisi’s rule will mean for Egypt’s economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental landscape.
Marc Ayoub
Nonresident Fellow, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)Marc is a Nonresident Fellow at TIMEP focusing on climate and energy in the Middle East and North Africa region. He is an energy policy researcher currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Galway in Ireland, with a focus on energy and climate policy and community engagement mechanisms for tidal energy projects. He is an Associate Fellow at the AUB Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs in Beirut, where he previously coordinated the Energy Policy and Security Program.
Omnia Khalil
Doctoral Lecturer at The City College of New York, CUNYOmnia Khalil has a Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center, Anthropology program. Her research titled The Making of Counter-Insurgent Geographies in Post-revolutionary Cairo focuses on urban redevelopment and securitization of Bulaq Abule’lla where thousands of families were dispossessed in addition had different roles at the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Khalil has a number of publications in both public and academic venues. Her research interests focus on violence, critical urban geography, political economy, securitization, and (counter)insurgency.
Lobna Darwish
Gender and Human Rights Officer, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)Lobna Darwish heads the gender and women’s rights department at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).
Timothy Kaldas
Deputy Director, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)Timothy E. Kaldas is the Deputy Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. He is also an adjunct professor of international relations at the Autonomous University of Barcelona where he is pursuing his PhD. His current research interests focus on the political economies of MENA countries, regime competition and survival strategies and Egypt’s foreign policy.