Egyptian Member of Parliament Mortada Mansour declared on Saturday his intention to run for president in the upcoming elections scheduled for March 26-28, saying that his first decision would be to block social networking site Facebook. In a phone interview with the Ala Mas’oliety late night talk show on TV channel Sada al-Balad, Mansour said that he will begin collecting the required endorsements on Sunday. The vast majority of Egypt’s 588-member parliament has declared their endorsement to sitting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. However, according to Mansour, there are still 15 to 20 members who are still undecided. Presidential hopefuls are required to receive endorsements from a minimum of 20 MPs, or 25,000 citizens from at least 15 of the country’s 27 governorates, with at least 1,000 endorsements from each governorate. Mansour went on to say that another issue that he seeks to push is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project. “One of my priority issues is the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. We should find a definite resolution to this dangerous dam, it will lead to our lands drying up,” referring to what Egyptian officials have deemed a threat to the country’s water…
‘I Will Block Facebook’: MP Mortada Mansour Announces Presidential Candidacy
January 14, 2018
