Egypt's Sisi says his presidency will end in 2030, outlines plan to prepare future leaders

By Enas Alashray

CAIRO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that his term would end in 2030 and outlined a plan for the country's main military academy to train potential future leaders for 30 months before then.

The proposal gives the Egyptian Military Academy a central role in preparing future leaders, underscoring the armed forces' influence beyond national defence. Under Sisi, a former general,the military has expanded its presence in the economy and civilian affairs.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the academy, Sisi said a committee overseen by the speaker of parliament and including intellectuals, politicians and the ministers of higher education and justice, would develop criteria for selecting candidates and draft legislation for the training programme.

Reiterating that Egypt's constitution would not be amended, he said the end of his presidential term in 2030 was "a matter that has been completely settled and will not be discussed".

He said the programme would allow Egyptians to "elect and choose from among" its graduates, but gave no details on how they would be put forward for elected or appointed posts.

"I will not leave the Egyptian state except when it is replete with sons and daughters capable of assuming responsibility," Sisi said.

The programme would target PhD holders from reputable Egyptian and foreign universities, who would spend 30 months at the academy learning about the state, its resources and how to preserve them, Sisi said. He said graduates would be prepared for leadership roles ranging from the presidency to ministries, governorates and parliament.

Sisi, 71, is serving a six-year term after being reelected in December 2023. Constitutional amendments approved in a 2019 referendum extended presidential terms from four to six years and allowed him to seek a third term, clearing the way for him to remain in office until 2030.

The latest in a line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military, he became president in 2014, a year after toppling Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood — Egypt's first democratically elected leader — following mass protests.

He proceeded to crush the Brotherhood, the Middle East's oldest Islamist organisation, and maintain a grip on power.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray, Eman Abouhassira and Tala Ramadan; Additional Reporting by Hatem Maher; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)