Egypt's Sisi begins third term, after economic bailout

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi begins his third term this week buoyed by massive fresh financing, but experts say the road out of the economic crisis will still be long and arduous.

Sisi won December's presidential election with 89.6 per cent of the vote, standing against three unknowns.

He is set to begin his third term officially on April 3, with local media reporting that he will swear the oath before parliament the day before, per France24.

This six-year term is set to be the 69-year-old's last unless another constitutional amendment again prolongs his tenure.

Pundits have speculated about a potential cabinet reshuffle as Cairo struggles to contain the fallout from two years of punishing economic crisis and dire foreign currency shortages.

As 2024 began, the Arab world's most populous country seemed to be hurtling towards default and economic collapse, analysts said, before it suddenly received more than $50 billion in loans and investments.

Within weeks, the United Arab Emirates announced a $35-billion land development deal for Egypt's Ras al-Hikma, the International Monetary Fund more than doubled a $3-billion loan, and the World Bank and European Union inked fresh financing agreements.

The massive bailout has saved Egypt "from falling into the abyss", according to former deputy prime minister Ziad Bahaa-Eldin.

Inside the country of 106 million people two-thirds of the population struggle to maintain their livelihoods, having lived on or below the poverty line even before the current crisis.

"People were already frustrated because they thought there was no solution," according to Mohamed Lotfy, executive director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF).

But with the much celebrated massive influx of cash, "they might hold out hope, they'll expect things will get better", he told AFP.

"If it doesn't, people will feel like they've sacrificed and waited and followed the rules, but have nothing to show for it -- they still can't afford to survive."

Over the past decade, Cairo has waged what Lotfy calls a "war of attrition" against civil society -- detaining tens of thousands of people, prosecuting rights groups and eradicating nearly all opposition.

Although a breakthrough seemed on the horizon in 2022 -- when Sisi launched a "national dialogue" and began releasing high-profile political prisoners -- "all those hopes were soon dashed", Lotfy said.

Now, with more than twice as many people newly detained as released, according to an ECRF tally, Lotfy says Egypt's rights record "remains disastrous" as "a sense of despair" grips the country.