Washington not backing any Egyptian candidate

WASHINGTON: The United States has vowed it is not backing any particular candidate in upcoming Egyptian elections, with Army chief Abdel Fattah El-Sissi strongly favored to win.
Sissi’s candidacy is being hailed by the millions of Egyptians weary of more than three years of turmoil since the overthrow of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.
But experts warn he is certain to continue the crackdown that started when he overthrew elected president Muhammad Mursi in July.
Washington has long held an official position of non-interference in its Arab ally’s political process.
“The United States does not support individual parties or candidates in Egypt’s elections,” deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in an e-mail to AFP.
“We have said repeatedly that we will respect the Egyptian people’s choice for their next president, and it’s the Egyptian people themselves who must decide both the direction of their country and its leadership.”
She added it was “critical that they are able to do so in an environment that allows the free expression of political views without intimidation or fear of retribution.”
Sissi earlier ditched his military fatigues and resigned as Egypt’s defense minister, a day after announcing he would stand for president.
Declaring his widely anticipated candidacy in a televised address on Wednesday, Sissi vowed to fight “terrorism” and work toward restoring Egypt’s battered economy.
The wildly popular candidate faces no serious competition in the election to be held before June and is widely seen as the only leader able to restore order.
Harf reiterated US calls for Army-backed Egyptian authorities to ensure “free, fair and transparent” elections.
During her daily press briefing, Harf said Washington was closely monitoring the conduct of elections as part of “our assessment of where Egypt is in this transition that has had, quite frankly, some bumps ins the road over the past six, eight, nine months now.”
And for the fourth time this week, the State Department condemned the “shocking verdicts” handed down against 529 Mursi supporters, who were sentenced to death for August 2013 violence.