Egypt’s banned April 6 Youth Movement has announced a boycott of the nation’s upcoming presidential elections, describing the process as “a farce”.
“The decision comes after at least six months of deliberation,” April 6’s Amr Ali told reporters after a press conference on Wednesday (May 14) during which the movement vowed to “uphold the struggle for the revolution.”
The group denounced the candidacy of ex-defence minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, adding that their decision to boycott the race notwithstanding, they extend their respect to El-Sisi’s rival, long-time Nasserist politician Hamdeen Sabahi.
Last week, one of the group’s offshoots, the April 6 Democratic Front, had announced it remained undecided whether or not to boycott the electoral race, adding it planned to launch “Against You” — a campaign against El-Sisi’s presidential candidacy which the revolutionary movement accuses of embodying the return of the “repressive regime” of former autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
On 28 April, an Egyptian court banned the April 6 movement, accusing the group — which was instrumental in the pro-democracy wave that led to the 2011 uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak — of defaming the country and colluding with foreign parties.
The group — whose founding member Ahmed Maher is currently serving a three-year jail sentence for violating the protest law — has been vocally critical of the interim authorities, which have arrested thousands in its vigorous crackdown on Islamists, and recently jailed dozens of non-Islamist activists as well. Maher co-founded the group in 2008 in support of workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town, who were planning to strike on April 6 that year.
Egypt’s second presidential race since Mubarak’s ouster will take place on 26, 27 May with only El-Sisi and Sabahi facing off.
