Egyptians use Twitter to demand their president leave

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The Arabic hashtag, Sisi leave#ارحل_يا_سيسي was trending on Twitter on Thursday, in response to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s statements about his willingness to hold “annual presidential elections,” and that he is ready to leave the presidency if the Egyptians wish.

In an interview with a number of foreign correspondents in Egypt, on the sidelines of the closing session of the World Youth Forum held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Sisi said: “I am ready to hold presidential elections in Egypt every year under the supervision of any [international] organisations. If the people no longer want me, I will leave immediately.”

Sisi claimed that the figures reported abroad on the human rights crisis in Egypt are not based on accurate data. Nor are they presented in their full context. Sisi commented on a reporter’s question about the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt, saying: “Send us lists of people who have been forcibly disappeared or who are subject to violations and we will see if this is accurate.” He continued: “Do you love our people more than us? Are you more caring for our country than we are?”

Regarding restricting the right to demonstrate in Egypt, the Egyptian president told foreign correspondents: “We will not leave our country to waste again… My cause is to take this country forward.” He continued, “After what you can see happening in six or seven countries around us, how are you still talking about these things?”