Sisi, Egypt’s Leader, Will Seek 2nd Term, and the Field Is Nearly Empty

Egypt’s military-backed president announced late on Friday his intention to run for a second term in an election whose integrity has already been questioned.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s declaration, which came during a televised news conference intended to showcase “a balance sheet” of his first-term achievements, surprised few in Egypt, where many regard his victory as a foregone conclusion.

Mr. Sisi, a former military general, rose to power in 2013 after deposing Mohamed Morsi, an unpopular but democratically elected Islamist president. Following Mr. Morsi’s ouster, Mr. Sisi’s government killed hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoned thousands of critics of all stripes. A year later, he became president after winning 97 percent of the vote in an election that was marked by a low turnout.

The 2018 vote will be held from March 26 to 28, with a runoff vote in late April if no candidate wins a majority in the first round.

“I pledge that the upcoming presidential election will be free and transparent,” Mr. Sisi said during his speech, adding that the campaign would be “characterized by equal opportunities between candidates.”

But Mr. Sisi has almost no competition.

His strongest would-be challenger, Ahmed Shafik, a former general and politician, quietly pulled out of the race this month after deciding that he was “not the best person to manage state affairs.” One of his lawyers said the government had forced him to drop out by threatening to investigate possible corruption charges against him.

A second potential competitor also complained of being pressured to quit. Anwar Sadat, a nephew of the former president, who had considered running, said the atmosphere was not conducive to “honest competition.”

Khaled Ali, a leftist lawyer who is Mr. Sisi’s only serious opponent, is at risk of being disqualified by a public indecency conviction. Mr. Ali was accused of making a vulgar hand gesture outside a Cairo courthouse last year after he secured a legal victory over Mr. Sisi’s government. If Mr. Ali fails in his appeal, scheduled for March 7, Mr. Sisi will be left alone in the field with Sami Anan, a retired military general who has been out of the public eye for years.

Mr. Sisi says his crackdown on liberties is needed to restore stability to Egypt, whose economy is still reeling from the chaos that followed the Arab Spring revolt, which ended the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Despite an uptick in militant attacks on security installments and civilian gatherings, Mr. Sisi’s government has managed to bring some stability to the country.

Mr. Sisi has also overseen painful economic reforms, which were praised by the International Monetary Fund, and he enjoys the backing of regional and Western allies who support his efforts to quell an Islamic insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.

International human rights groups have routinely criticized Mr. Sisi’s iron-fisted policies, saying they fuel radicalization.