Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reaffirmed his intention to leave office when his current term expires in 2030, emphasizing his commitment to the constitutional limits on presidential tenure. The remarks came during a military graduation ceremony on Saturday, where he also pledged support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing attacks from the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen.
El-Sisi described the conclusion of his presidency as "completely settled" and insisted that the Egyptian Constitution "would not be touched," despite previous amendments that extended his time in office. The president, who is 71 years old, outlined a vision in which the military continues to play a significant role in Egypt’s political landscape, highlighting the military academy as a training ground for future leaders, including presidents and senior government officials. However, he provided few specifics about the mechanisms for future candidates to emerge from this framework.
Calls from some supporters for further constitutional changes to allow el-Sisi to remain in power beyond 2030 have surfaced, although such amendments have faced criticism from human rights organizations. These groups have condemned earlier constitutional revisions as tools that solidify authoritarian rule. Notably, changes passed in 2019 extended presidential terms from four to six years and permitted el-Sisi to seek a third term.
El-Sisi, a former army chief, ascended to power in 2013 following a military coup that removed Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president. After winning the presidency in 2014, he consolidated his control through a broad crackdown on dissent, leading to the imprisonment of political opponents and journalists and severe restrictions on political freedoms, according to multiple human rights reports.
This is not the first occasion on which el-Sisi has committed to respecting presidential term limits. In a 2017 interview, he pledged not to pursue a third term, yet amendments enacted less than two years later enabled his rule to extend until 2030. Those reforms also bolstered the military’s political authority and increased el-Sisi’s influence over the judiciary.
Analysts have expressed cautious interest in el-Sisi’s latest assurances. H. A. Elbery, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, remarked that the pledge appeared to be made voluntarily and without external pressure, suggesting it should be regarded as credible.
The military and political alliance between Egypt and Saudi Arabia remains strong. Since the 2013 coup, Saudi Arabia has played a key role in supporting Egypt’s economy through aid and investments, as well as supplying essential resources like fuel and wheat. The two countries share concerns over regional security, particularly regarding the conflict in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi movement since 2015. Although a U.N.-brokered truce in 2022 initially reduced hostilities, fighting has escalated in recent months amid broader tensions stemming from the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. The U.N. envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, recently warned that the nation has reverted to full-scale war, with intensified combat on multiple fronts and increased Houthi attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.