Egypt's Sisi vows to resign if he loses election
Egypt's president has sworn he would step down from office if he loses next year's presidential elections.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi vowed on Tuesday during a question and answer session at a youth conference that he would respect the outcome of the 2018 presidential race.
"I swear to God Almighty if Egyptians don't want me stay another second in this position I won't," Sisi said when asked if he would respect the outcome of the election.
"I'll tell you guys why; I always say that as the Lord has given people the freedom to believe or not believe… God has also given people the freedom to choose who they want or don't want,"
"I could never allow myself or accept for myself, or for you all, that I stay in this position against your will," Sisi said.
He added that Egyptians had the right to take part in fair elections to ensure that their voices are heard.
In 2013, when Sisi was defence minister, he led a military coup that overthrew Egypt's first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi, following mass protests against the Islamist leader.
A year later, Sisi came to power after winning presidential elections with 96 percent of the vote after standing largely uncontested.
Since then, rights and freedoms have been restricted, with rights groups and activists accusing Sisi of leading a brutal crackdown on Islamists and leftist dissidents.
Last month, an Egyptian lawmaker attempted to collected signatures for a petition to extend the terms of the president and lift restrictions on re-election
Ismail Nasr al-Deen wanted to amend an article of the constitution to enable Sisi to stay in power longer than the two four-year terms currently permitted.
Sisi's popularity has declined in recent months as the economy has been hit by shortages of food staples, rising food prices, hikes in utility bills and terrorist attacks that have worsen the already ailing tourism industry.
In response to Sisi's comments, social media users took to Twitter using the Arabic-language hashtag #WeDontWantSisi to tell the military strongman to step down.
"The worst figure head the regime has ever chosen to represent itself in 65 years. [Sisi] has sold the country, killed and arrested," the opposition April 6 Youth Movement said.