Egypt's Sisi says he will step down as president if people rise against him
Egypt's likely next leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, will resign from office if his presidency sparks mass protests, the former army chief has said, the Guardian reports.
"If people go down to protest, I will say: I am at your service," Sisi said in an interview with Sky News Arabia aired late on Sunday. "I can't wait until the army asks me to [resign]."
Sisi has just one competitor in Egypt's presidential run-off, which culminates in a two-day poll on 26-27 May – a contest he is widely expected to win.
His remarks echo those of the man he ousted from Egypt's presidency, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi. On his election in June 2012, Morsi similarly promised to step down if the masses rose against him, before refusing to resign when millions did fill the streets a year later – a decision that prompted Sisi to force him from office.
Sisi's comments appear at odds with other recent statements, in which he defended a controversial new law that several rights groups say severely curbs the freedom of assembly. Demonstrations put off tourists and harm the country's recovery, Sisi has argued. "The right to protest is guaranteed for all but we will not let the country be destroyed."
On Sunday, Sisi also stressed that he would not seek reconciliation with the Brotherhood, reiterating comments he made in a previous interview last week, in which he said: "There will be nothing called the Muslim Brotherhood during my tenure." A week on, Sisi repeated that the Brotherhood had tarnished Islam and "need to reevaluate themselves."