Several leading opposition figures called on Sunday for a boycott of Egypt's March election, citing a wave of repression that has cleared the field of challengers to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Former military commander Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after leading the army to the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. The election will be the third since protests in 2011 unseated long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak. Sunday's statement calling for a boycott said that the state's policies were paving the way for extended limits to presidential terms and are "removing any opportunity for the peaceful transfer of power". The call to boycott comes a day after Genena was attacked and badly wounded outside his home in what his lawyer described as an attempted kidnapping.

Source: dna January 29, 2018 02:32 UTC