Egypt’s poor expect Sisi to deliver on election promises
Egyptian President-elect Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has repeatedly addressed the need to raise living conditions for Egypt’s poor, and they expect him to live up to his words.
CAIRO — The spotlight is on Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after his landslide victory in last week's presidential elections. Despite a low voter turnout, the Sisi campaign did manage to win the support of certain target groups including rural tribes — as Al-Monitor reported last week — and some of the most impoverished in its cities. Now, many of those who gave their support to Sisi want something in return.
For the families who were forcibly evicted from their homes in Ezbet El-Nakhl — a maze of informal housing settlement that stood on the edge of northern Cairo until Feb. 18 — Sisi represents hope, but he has yet to deliver. However, statements by the president-elect himself suggest ordinary Egyptians, and particularly citizens living below the poverty line, could be about to face hard times.
