CAIRO -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has warned Egypt that its transition to democracy after years of political turmoil is faltering ahead of presidential elections later this month.
His Carter Center won't be sending observers for Egypt's May 26-27 election, which many believe retired Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will win handily after he led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year. However, the center will be sending a small team of experts.
In a statement Friday, the center warned that "Egypt's political transition has stalled and stands on the precipice of total reversal." The center said Morsi's overthrow deepened the political unrest in the country. The military-backed interim government has declared Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group a terrorist organization, as hundreds of its followers have been killed and thousands have been arrested.
"I am gravely concerned that Egypt's democratic transition has faltered," Carter said in the statement.
El-Sissi will face leftist Hamdeen Sabahi in the election, but his win seems assured as the retired army leader is riding a wave of nationalistic fervor following the July 3 overthrow. A Brotherhood-led coalition says it will boycott the election.
As president, Carter oversaw negotiations in the late 1970s that led to Israel and Egypt signing their longstanding peace accords following wars between the neighboring nations. The Carter Center, which he founded with his wife, has been monitoring Egypt closely since the 2011 revolt against autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
A Section on 05/18/2014