Former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sissi is officially Egypt’s new president.
He took his oath of office on live TV — calling on Egyptians to return security to the nation. His words come after political chaos inside Egypt. (Via BBC)
Last summer, el-Sissi led the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi — Egypt’s first democratically-elected president. El-Sissi’s role in the uprising helped launch him into the national spotlight. (Via RT)
To his supporters, he’s the strong leader the country needs to restore security. But to his detractors, he represents a return to authoritarian rule. (Via Euronews)
Over the past year as army chief, el-Sissi presided over a crackdown on Morsi’s supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt has now branded the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, detained thousands of members and sentenced more than 1,000 to death. (Via RT, MSNBC, NBC)
So it was no surprise that the Brotherhood boycotted last month's elections. Even though el-Sissi won by a landslide victory, less than half of the electorate went to the polls. (Via CCTV)
At 47 percent voter turnout, it was far short of what he needed to claim a mandate — raising questions of whether Egypt’s new leader can deliver on a number of promises, including putting down an Islamist insurgency and stabilizing the economy after three years of political turmoil.
The BBC reports, if el-Sissi can’t deliver in the next two years, he could face the same backlash and mass revolts that he predecessors did.
The White House has said it is looking forward to working with el-Sissi while at the same time expressing concern about the political environment in Egypt.
