Egypt opposition boycotts elections

An Egyptian opposition party has boycotted the upcoming parliamentary elections due to “absence of a proper democratic atmosphere”.

The Strong Egypt party, led by former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, made the announcement in a Wednesday statement.

“Given the absence of a proper democratic atmosphere for a genuinely competitive election, the party decided to boycott the House of Representatives election,” read the statement.

The crackdown on supporters of the country’s first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, by the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has prompted the Popular Current, another opposition movement led by ex-presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, to shun the vote as well.

The al-Dostour party, founded by former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed el-Baradei, remains the only notable party yet to announce its stance on the elections, which are scheduled to be held in two phases in March and April.

Sisi’s military-backed government has been involved in a heavy handed crackdown on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood since Morsi was ousted in July 2013 in a military coup led by Sisi, the army commander at the time.