(CNN) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that the country’s constitution “will not be touched by anyone,” in an apparent reference to what has been raised about the possibility of it being subject to amendment for the purpose of extending ruling terms.
The Egyptian President explained, during an educational seminar for the armed forces, the details of which were revealed in a statement by the presidential spokesman, that “the state has a constitution, a constitution that we have approved for the state, stating that no one will touch it. His Excellency reiterated that no one will touch it, stressing therefore that no one should tamper with the minds of Egyptians.” He warned Egyptians against misinformation campaigns.
Sisi's rule officially ends in 2030. Under the 2019 constitutional amendments, the presidential term is 6 years long, and the presidency may not extend for more than two consecutive terms.
While Sisi saw that there was a connection between the events of 1973 and 2013, explaining that “the late President Anwar Sadat was a visionary and thinker, and he began implementing an economic reform program starting in 1976. However, some of the measures taken at that time, including raising the prices of some goods, were met with objections and demonstrations that prompted the state to retreat from completing this path, despite the great standing that President Sadat enjoyed after achieving the October victory.”
Al-Sisi said, “The Egyptian state has witnessed attempts at economic reform since 1976, and today it continues to implement an economic reform program aimed at enhancing its capabilities and achieving development.” He explained that "one of the politicians had advised the late President Anwar Sadat to release members of the religious movement from prisons to confront another political movement that was active on the Egyptian scene at the time, a step that ultimately led to the assassination of President Sadat."
Al-Sisi touched on his period in charge of managing military intelligence during the developments of the 2011 uprising until the Muslim Brotherhood came to power, noting, “It is difficult to imagine that the administration of the state will be assumed by a person or organization that calls on citizens to demonstrate continuously over a year and a half, and the resulting severe depletion of the state’s resources and capabilities.”
Al-Sisi pointed out that former Defense Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi was asking him at the time whether power could be handed over to the Muslim Brotherhood, and his response, during a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, was that “if the people elect them, then power can be handed over to them,” according to what he said.
He stated that the American ambassador in Cairo at the time was asking him, during his assumption of responsibility for the Military Intelligence Directorate, about his expectations for who would assume power in Egypt, and that his assessment was that the Brotherhood would be the one that would come to power. He added that at the same time he expected that they would not continue to rule for a long time because he considered that "the challenges facing the Egyptian state are greater than any political movement, president or group, but they are not greater than the ability and will of the Egyptian people."
After warning of “serious repercussions” threatening Egypt’s stability if it was exposed to “unrest similar to what it witnessed in 2011,” Al-Sisi said, addressing the Egyptians: “Fortify your country against this conspiracy... and I do not say fortify the president.”
Al-Sisi commented on the statements of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, during which he said that “there will be no Sinai” if Israel is attacked by Egypt.
Al-Sisi said, "Egypt fought a war in defense of its land and regained all of its territory, wondering whether some circles in Israel have unjustified perceptions or concerns about the presence of Egyptian ambitions toward them." He stressed that his country "does not have any hidden agendas, and that its main priority is to preserve its borders and national security within a framework of peace and stability."
The Egyptian President stressed that the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel represents a governing framework for relations between the two sides, stressing that Egypt has “no ambitions towards anyone.”
