Egypt Sabbahi: Stability after election of new president not guaranteed

Egypt will not necessarily be stable after the election of a new president, former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi said Sunday in an interview with CBC satellite channel.

Sabbahi, a Nasserist and longtime activist who ranked third in the first round of the presidential election, told channel host Khairy Ramadan that both candidates competing in the runoff will fail to realize the aspirations of Egyptians.

Former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy are set to compete in the runoff election slated for Saturday and Sunday.

Sabbahi, who had won the backing of several revolutionary groups, criticized the two candidates, saying Shafiq represents the despotism of the fallen regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, while describing Morsy as greedy for power.

He said he joined the protests following the first round of the election to console the families of the January 2011 revolution victims rather than to protest the voting results.

Sabbahi said he called for a presidential coalition after discussions with former Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh and leftist activist Khaled Ali, both former candidates, adding that he promoted the idea out of conviction and not due to his defeat.

“We are currently experiencing a dilemma after the revolution because we have to choose in the runoff between two candidates who do not represent the majority’s will.

Many Egyptians who had been disappointed in the outcome of the first round of the polls had suggested the formation of a presidential council — excluding Shafiq — that would assume power from the ruling military. But discussions about the council have been unfruitful.

Sabbahi denied that he asked Morsy to bow out of the race in his favor. He said one of the two candidates offered him the job of forming the Cabinet.