Egypt presidential hopeful calls for new election law

CAIRO – An Egyptian presidential hopeful is proposing a new election law aimed at ensuring a free and transparent vote next year.

Rights lawyer Khaled Ali told a packed news conference on Tuesday that a free election requires “real guarantees that include lifting the emergency state” imposed since April. He is also demanding the release of jailed journalists and the opening of public spaces for political activism.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is widely expected to run for and win a second four-year term, but he has yet to formally announce his candidacy.

Ali could be disqualified from running over an obscenity conviction.

Egypt has waged a massive crackdown on dissent since el-Sissi led the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013.