Egypt has announced plans for a presidential election to take place from December 10 to 12, as the nation grapples with quite a tough economic crisis.

Although President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who has been president for nearly 10 years, has not yet formally declared his candidacy, state-backed media has already disseminated messages of support from pro-government entities.

El-Sisi, 68, initially assumed office in 2014 following his role in the ousting of then-President Mohamed Morsi. He later secured a landslide victory in the 2018 election, defeating one of his own supporters.

Only two other candidates have expressed their intention to participate in this upcoming election thus far, including opposition figure Ahmed al-Tantawi, who claims he was harassed constantly by security forces.

The election was originally anticipated to take place in the spring of 2024, but it has been moved up, with some experts suggesting this shift is intended to precede a potential transition to a more flexible exchange rate, a move that could further exacerbate social tensions in Egypt, and its population of 105 million.

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The candidacy application period is set to open in October, and the final candidate list will be confirmed by November 9.

Campaigning will continue until November 29, with the election winner to be announced on December 18, as announced by Judge Walid Hassan Hamza, Chairman of the National Election Authority.

Perilous situation

In a sequence of devaluations that began in March 2022, the country's currency has depreciated by 50%, leading to a surge in consumer prices in this import-dependent economy.

Last year, the International Monetary Fund granted Egypt a $3 billion loan on the condition that the country adopts a flexible exchange rate regime as a permanent shift.

Despite this, the government has maintained a fixed exchange rate of roughly 31 Egyptian pounds to the US dollar since January. However, prices have continued to soar due to a thriving parallel currency market driven by a severe shortage of foreign exchange.

In August, annual inflation hit a record high for the third consecutive month, reaching 39.7 percent.

To mitigate the economic challenges, President El-Sisi's administration has introduced a series of social protection measures and minimum wage increases.