Egyptian expatriates will kick off the presidential election on Friday when they begin casting their ballots at diplomatic missions in 124 countries around the world.
The polling booths will be open from 9am to 9pm. According to Egypt's statistics agency, there are 9.5 million Egyptians living outside the country, including about 765,000 in the UAE.
The overseas voting triggered the first of two 48-hour “campaign silence" periods mandated by Egyptian law, said National Elections Authority spokesman Mahmoud El Sherif.
“No electoral campaigning activity is allowed in the media during the silence period, yet public discussion about the elections and its procedures is welcomed,” Mr El Sherif said.
The second silence period will take effect before three days of polling begin in Egypt on March 26.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a supporter of Mr El Sisi who leads the small Ghad party, are the only names on the ballot.
With Mr El Sisi expected to win a second term by an overwhelming margin, the only speculation among analysts is about how many of the 59 million eligible voters take part in the election. The president and officials have repeatedly called for a large turnout.
“I’m calling on citizens to participate in these elections,” Mr El Sisi said on Wednesday as he inspected the new Crisis Management Centre at the interior ministry’s Cairo headquarters, “regardless of their views and opinions. This [election] is an expression of their free will and a contribution to the building of the homeland.”
In January, Mr El Sisi issued a thinly veiled threat to those calling for a boycott of election, saying he would act against anyone who tried to "mess" with the country's security.
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Mr El Sisi won 23,780,104 votes in the 2014 presidential election, capturing nearly 97 per cent of the vote with a turnout rate of 47.5 per cent.
To boost numbers this time, the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce is asking private-sector companies to give employees paid leave to vote, a practice already widespread for the more than six million public sector workers.
"I realise I am a little-known figure to many, I hope only to achieve an honourable result," Mr Moussa told the daily Al Ahram on Thursday. He said he refused to give interviews to foreign media after international outlets focused on allegations of human-rights violations and an election boycott call issued by opposition groups.
The official State Information Service is particularly incensed over a recent BBC report on human-rights infringements, including police torture, and has called on officials and prominent individuals to boycott the UK broadcaster.
Tension between the authorities and foreign media escalated this week as the General Prosecution announced it had set up hotline numbers for citizens to send complaints about “fake news” and reporting that "aims to endanger the nation’s security or public interests”, either as text messages or through WhatsApp.
Despite Mr El Sisi’s re-election campaign entering its triumphant final lap, parliamentarians say they are concerned that social media undermine a national political consensus and that foreign funding supports the persistence of the political opposition groups.
Members of parliament's Information and Communication Technologies Committee on Tuesday introduced a bill that could ban Facebook in Egypt.
Article 7 of the bill grants authorities the power to “order the censorship of websites” if “evidence arises that a website broadcasting from inside or outside the state has published any phrases, photos or films, or any promotional material or the like which constitute a crime, as set forth in this law, and poses a threat to national security or compromises national security or the national economy”.
Next week Egypt’s cabinet is expected to discuss regulations banning NGOs from engaging in political activity and mandating state approval for receiving foreign funds.
“Unfortunately, we are not expecting this government to loosen up after these elections,” said Amr Abdel Rahman, former spokesman for human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, who dropped his presidential bid in January.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
LIGUE 1 FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Nice v Angers (9pm)
Lille v Monaco (10.45pm)
Saturday
Montpellier v Paris Saint-Germain (7pm)
Bordeaux v Guingamp (10pm)
Caen v Amiens (10pm)
Lyon v Dijon (10pm)
Metz v Troyes (10pm)
Sunday
Saint-Etienne v Rennes (5pm)
Strasbourg v Nantes (7pm)
Marseille v Toulouse (11pm)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
