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Egypt's Sisi: architect of cash-strapped 'New Republic'

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announces his candidacy for a third term
— Cairo (Egypt) (AFP)

Ten years after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi rose to power in Egypt promising prosperity for all, he embarks on a third run for office as Egyptians buckle under unrelenting economic strain.

In July 2013, then-army chief Sisi, wearing his uniform and trademark dark glasses, went on television asking for "a mandate" to fight "terrorism" after the army toppled democratically elected but divisive Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The following month, security forces forcibly dispersed two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo in an operation that killed more than 700 people.

Sisi secured a mandate at the ballot box the following year, and was re-elected in 2018.

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