{"id":631669,"date":"2018-03-25T04:11:26","date_gmt":"2018-03-25T04:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/03\/25\/foreign-media-feeding-frenzy-on-egypt-presidential-election-continues\/"},"modified":"2018-03-25T04:11:26","modified_gmt":"2018-03-25T04:11:26","slug":"foreign-media-feeding-frenzy-on-egypt-presidential-election-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/03\/25\/foreign-media-feeding-frenzy-on-egypt-presidential-election-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign media feeding frenzy on Egypt presidential election continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

The foreign media is still in a feeding frenzy over Egypt\u2019s presidential elections<\/strong>, which are now only one day away. Reuters quotes<\/a> President Abdel Fattah El Sisi\u2019s Friday remarks in defense of his \u201ctough austerity measures,\u201d while the Times notes<\/a> that he said he would have liked to see more opponents in the race, and All Africa breaks down<\/a> the voting process.<\/p>\n

Bews outlets continued to address the elections in a sharp tone<\/strong>, criticizing the two-man race<\/a> and noting that the result will unquestionable be in El Sisi\u2019s favor<\/a>. \u201cThe mystery, then, is why Mr. Sisi is acting like a man with something to lose,\u201d muses the New York Times\u2019 Declan Walsh<\/a>. \u201cWhile the vote is expected to be a stage-managed confirmation, along the lines of those in China and Russia last weekend, it has exposed a rumble of discontent inside the security establishment that appeared to rattle Mr. Sisi.\u201d Meanwhile, the Associated Press says that<\/a> \u201cthe bigger picture is that in the Middle East as a whole, democracy has largely failed to take hold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egyptians\u2019 use of \u201cgrim satire\u201d on social media to poke fun at the abundance of posters <\/strong>supporting President Abdel Fattah El Sisi\u2019s re-election bid, the AP also notes<\/a>, while a \u201cbipartisan group of US foreign policy figures\u201d are calling on the White House to abstain from praising the presidential elections in Egypt<\/strong>. Their requests will likely fall on deaf ears, the Washington Post<\/a> opines.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere this morning: Times reporter Bel Trew was detained and questioned for seven hours before being put on a plane out of Cairo,<\/strong> where she had lived and worked for seven years, according to The Times<\/a>. No immediate official explanation was given for her detention and no charges were brought against her, she writes for the newspaper<\/a> for which she has reported since 2013. The Guardian<\/a>, Reuters<\/a>, and WSJ<\/a> also have coverage.<\/p>\n

The move to partially privatize Egypt\u2019s railways is a sign that the country may be over its fear of the dreaded \u201cP\u201d word<\/strong>, writes David Awad for Al Monitor<\/a>. Involving the private sector in management is a way \u201cto fight corruption, bureaucracy, ill-planned decisions and the lack of accountability for mistakes in the state\u2019s administrative institutions,\u201d says Cairo University economic law professor Ayman Abdul Mordi. However, there remains throwbacks who cling on to the problems privatization faced back in the 1990s. Some, including former Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies researcher Abdul Khalek Farouk believe the move could open the door to lost state revenues and the wholesale sacking of workers.<\/p>\n

Also in the headlines this morning:<\/p>\n