International rights groups say Egypt's election unfair
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Over a dozen international and regional rights groups are saying that next month's presidential election in Egypt does not meet the "minimum requirements" for a fair and free vote and called on Cairo's allies to denounce the "farcical" election.
The incumbent, general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, is virtually certain to win the March vote, his only challenger an obscure politician and one of his most ardent supporters.
Leaders of opposition parties who called for a boycott of the vote are being investigated on allegations they are seeking to destabilize the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 14 groups, including Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists, said on Tuesday that el-Sissi's government has "suppressed freedoms, arrested potential candidates and rounded up their supporters."
They say Egypt is moving away from democracy with every election.