Egypt’s Al-Nour Party, the country’s largest Salafi party, declared on Sunday that they are officially supporting President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi’s second presidential bid and that its members will vote for the incumbent in the upcoming polls.
During a press conference held at the party’s main headquarters in Cairo, the head of Al-Nour Younis Makhyoun said that after consultations with the heads of the party’s different branches around Egypt, they decided to support Sisi in the upcoming presidential elections.
He added that most factions of the party consider Sisi as the most capable person to lead Egypt and enhance stability inside the country.
“It is clear to everyone the threats that are surrounding the country, it is necessary to achieve unity between the government and Egyptians — the political parties are part of the national unity, we are trying to provide our vision to the next president, particularly on the economic side and how to eliminate the negative side effects of prices on citizens,” Makhyoun said.
He asserted that the government should avoid borrowing money unless necessary, reduce consumption, and attempt to expand the reclamation of desert areas, in addition to helping to rural areas.
Established in 2011 directly after the January 25 revolution, Al-Nour is an ultra-conservative Islamist party, which believes in the strict implementation of Sharia law.
It has been described as the political arm of the Salafi Call Society.
The party emerged from the House of Representatives’ elections in 2015 with only 12 seats out of a total of 596. In the 2011-2012 parliamentary elections, the Al-Nour Party won the second-highest number of seats after the Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Nour Party ran in the last elections as the only Islamist party that is still active in Egypt, following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood government in 2013.
The party frequently accuses the state and media outlets of prejudice against its politicians.
