Several high-profile Egyptians call for presidential election boycott

CAIRO – Several leading opposition figures called on Sunday for a boycott of Egypt's March election, citing a wave of repression that has cleared the field of challengers to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

A string of candidates have withdrawn from the election on concerns over intimidation and the arrest of Sisi's leading challenger, leaving the former general the sole contender only a day before the Jan. 29 nomination deadline.

Former military commander Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after leading the army to the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. The election will be the third since protests in 2011 unseated long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak.

"We call on our great people to boycott these elections entirely, and to not recognise anything that results from it," figures from across the political spectrum said in a joint statement.