Next year’s presidential elections seem to be on the minds of the country’s opinion writers this week, including Al Shorouk’s Mohamed Esmat, who points out that we should now be in the middle of a heated run-up to the election season but instead have no idea who will actually be throwing their hats in the ring. Even President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has yet to officially confirm whether or not he will seek re-election, which Esmat says just goes to show that Egypt is struggling with a severe case of political poverty alongside its economic woes. Meanwhile, Emad El Din Hussein brings a more confident tone to the pages of the same newspaper, saying that El Sisi will run for and win a second presidential term, but will need to focus his efforts on ensuring a high enough turnout rate in the elections to make his win legitimate. Hussein suggests that the president will formally announce his nomination early next year, when he is scheduled to present a report on his progress and achievements over the past three years. He notes that many of the president’s major projects are scheduled for completion around the same time, which will give his credibility as a competent ruler a considerable boost.

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