Ahmed Moussa, an Egyptian TV host with ties to the regime, has fiercely criticized Twitter users who oppose President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi running for a second term in office on his show “Ala Mas’uleety.” Moussa, who is known as a staunch defender of the regime, conducted a poll on Twitter Aug. 25, asking, “Do you agree that Sisi should run for a second term in office?” The answer shocked him, as 81% opposed and only 19% agreed.
It all began Aug. 23, when Sisi announced on his official Facebook page that he plans to run for a second presidential term, but only if Egyptians want him to. “I can never go against the will of the Egyptian people. I am at their disposal. If their will requires me to run for another term, I will do so,” he wrote.
On the same day, Moussa introduced the hashtag #WeCanNeverDoWithoutYouMrPresident to Facebook. He called on his audience and fans to use it as much as they could to let everyone know how much the people love Sisi and send the message that Egyptians want him not only to continue in office, but to run for a second term as well.
The following day, Moussa expressed his joy at the response to his appeal, saying, “I would like to thank everyone who interacted with the page of our show. I found over 1,000 comments, and we received many messages. Everyone expressed their opinion in absolute freedom.”
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.