Sisi's election rally bombed

A bomb exploded on Saturday evening at a pro-Sisi election rally in Cairo, injuring two police officers and two civilians.

Egyptian military sources quoted by France 24 described the bomb as a “crude” improvised explosive device which was thrown during the rally close to Sisi’s campaign headquarters in the northern Azbet el-Nakhl district of Cairo.

Sisi was not present at the rally, and has yet to give any official comment on the targeting of his supporters.

The campaign in the run-up to presidential elections on 26-27 May has taken place amid heightened security, and Saturday’s bomb is the first reported attack on a rally.

Sisi’s campaign has so far relied to a large extent on television interviews and social media, and he has not appeared at any of his election rallies.

During his first televised interview since announcing his candidacy on 27 March he revealed that he had been the subject of two assassination attempts since his involvement in the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi on 3 June 2013.

On Sunday Sisi will be speaking via webcam to his supporters in the northern governorate of Al Sharqia, Morsi’s birthplace.

The European Union announced on Saturday that it will not be monitoring Egypt’s polls, citing administrative obstacles.

The EU election observer mission already has some 40 people on the ground, but said that “despite repeated requests” they had been unable to obtain the equipment necessary for ensuring the safety of team members.

In early May it emerged that the EU planned to go ahead with its observer mission during the Egyptian elections, despite a plea from the April 6 opposition movement to stay away and avoid legitimising “current state practices.”

Friday saw African Union observers arrive in Cairo, although technically Egypt’s AU membership is still frozen after the 3 June ouster of Mohamed Morsi.

The AU automatically suspends membership of any state experiencing an unconstitutional change of government.

Amid the ongoing election campaigns of Sisi and his only other rival Hamdeen Sabbahi, Saturday also saw 39 people sentenced to two years in prison on what judicial sources called “violent charges.”

Anadolu reports that the group were supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, designated a terrorist organisation, and that they had been charged with “joining a terrorist group” and violating a controversial anti-protest law that bans any demonstration that does not have prior permission from the police. 

On Sunday Anadolu reported that 126 supporters of former President Morsi had been given 10-year sentences for involvement in unrest in the Nile Delta in August 2013, for "rioting, possessing bladed weapons and damaging public property."

The August disturbances in the Nile Delta took place after the 14 August event known as the Rabaa Massacre, when security forces raided pro-Morsi camps in Gaza and Cairo, in what was Egypt's deadliest day since the 2011 revolution.

The sentences, which have drawn criticism from the lawyers and family members of those charged, are open to appeal at a higher court.