Egypt Wafd party decides not to field presidential candidate

CAIRO – One of Egypt’s oldest political parties has decided not to field a candidate to challenge President Abdel-fattah el-Sissi in March elections, ending days of intense speculations.

The Wafd party has come under pressure from segments of the pro-government media to field a candidate to prevent a race in which el-Sissi, who is virtually certain to win, is the only candidate.

Some Wafd officials said the party had a “national duty” to do so to counter doubts about the credibility of the vote. The name of party lead El-Sayed el-Badawi was floated as the likely candidate.

After two days of meetings, the party voted Saturday against fielding a candidate.

A string of would-be candidates have over the past weeks been arrested, forced out or quit the race for the March vote.