Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is to be sworn in as Egypt’s new president after winning by a landslide in May’s elections.<\/p>\n
Security forces have been deployed at key locations around the capital Cairo in preparation for the ceremony at the Supreme Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
The retired field marshal overthrew President Mohammed Morsi last July.<\/p>\n
He has since been locked in a battle with Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which urged a boycott of the elections.<\/p>\n
Liberal and secular activists, including the 6 April youth movement which was prominent in the 2011 revolution that ousted long-serving President Hosni Mubarak, also shunned the 26-28 May poll in protest at the curtailing of civil rights.<\/p>\n
‘Time to work’<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr Sisi, 59, secured 96.9% of the vote and his sole challenger, left-winger Hamdeen Sabahi, received only 3.1%, according to the official results.<\/p>\n However, the turnout was less than 50%.<\/p>\n Despite this crowds are expected to flock to Cairo’s Tahrir Square to celebrate his victory, the BBC’s Orla Guerin in the Egyptian capital reports.<\/p>\n He inherits a nation that is divided and weary, our correspondent says. Experts warn that if he cannot deliver in the next year or two he could face a mass revolt, like his predecessors.<\/p>\n In a televised speech after the poll, Mr Sisi said he wanted “freedom” and “social justice”, echoing the slogan of the 2011 revolution.<\/p>\n He said it was now “time to work”, adding: “Our co-operation in work and construction will lead to prosperity and luxury.”<\/p>\n He also faces a wide array of other challenges, including fixing the economy, easing poverty and preventing further political crises.<\/p>\n Mr Sisi has also promised to restore security in a country where attacks by Islamist militants have left hundreds of security personnel dead over the past 11 months.<\/p>\n The militants have stepped up attacks in response to the state’s crackdown on Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, in which more than 1,400 people have been killed and 16,000 detained.<\/p>\n Mr Morsi and other senior leaders of the Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist organisation, are currently standing trial on a series of charges. They strongly deny any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n Critics fear that Mr Sisi will continue to show little tolerance for dissent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is to be sworn in as Egypt’s new president after winning by a landslide in May’s elections. Security forces have been deployed at key locations around the capital Cairo in preparation for the ceremony at the Supreme Constitutional Court. The retired field marshal overthrew President Mohammed Morsi last July. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":23387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"\n