Ali is one of four candidates to declare intention to run against Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and the figurehead for Egypt’s left

Khaled Ali is an unassuming sort of revolutionary. Dressed in a tweed jacket, his formidable eyebrows arching over thick-rimmed glasses, he could be mistaken for a substitute teacher rather than a firebrand lawyer and hopeful presidential candidate in Egypt’s forthcoming election.

“I’m seen as a traitor funded from abroad,” he said, shrugging off the criticisms levelled at him by Egyptian media and pro-government figures.

Ali’s platform, a mix of welfare proposals including expanded health insurance and a minimum wage, is reminiscent of socialists who’ve broken into mainstream politics elsewhere, such as Bernie Sanders or even Jeremy Corbyn. Does he see himself in the same tradition? Ali gives his only interview response in English: “I am Khaled Ali.” Then he laughs.

Yet Ali might be the closest thing that Egypt has to David confronting Goliath. He is currently one of four potential candidates to declare their intention to run against Egypt’s strongman president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in the country’s presidential election due in spring 2018, but perhaps the only one with a chance of competing.

Col Ahmed Konsowa was detained shortly after he declared his intention to run, accused of violating military rules by expressing political views in uniform. Last week he was sentenced to six years in prison.

Egypt’s former prime minister, Ahmed Shafik, was deported from the UAE and held incommunicado for 24 hours on his return to Egypt after declaring his intention to run.

Shafik is a formidable symbol of the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak, an autocrat with ties to its powerful military and security services, while Ali is the latest figurehead of the leftist opposition that toppled Mubarak from power in 2011.

Sisi, formerly head of the country’s armed forces, who swept to power in a popularly-backed military coup in 2013 and won with 97% of the vote in the 2014 election.

His first term witnessed increasing economic turbulence and security concerns, accompanied by an unprecedented crackdown on opposition, free speech and civil society. Though he is yet to declare, he is widely expected to run for a second term, and win.

Ali’s platform is less a criticism of Sisi’s style of government and more a challenge to the entire system that he represents. As a result, for many he is not just opposition but public enemy number one.

His campaign has faced intimidation from the start. Police raided a printing house producing his campaign brochures, then denied the raid ever took place.

“I was asked to attend a dinner in downtown Cairo, and the next day every cafe in that street was closed, as everyone had been hassled by the police,” he added. “A lawyer in one district wanted to hold a meeting to discuss supporting me, and then got a call from the police demanding that he cancel it.”

Ali has also become a punching bag for Egypt’s overwhelmingly pro-state media. Since announcing his intention to run, he is yet to be invited to speak on any of Egypt’s influential nightly talkshows or give interviews to the local press.

The hyper-nationalist Al Gomhuria newspaper has run coverage denouncing Ali, at one point publishing a provocative full-page op-ed by the editor in chief entitled “Khaled Ali and midget’s play”. The piece described Ali as a show-off secretly funded by the EU, obsessed with authority and “cartoonish struggles”.

Their obsession with minimising Ali’s candidacy figure is reminiscent of the reaction to his last bid for president in 2012, where he garnered less than 1% of the overall vote. Since then, however, Ali has risen to infamy, which he hopes will generate votes for him in 2018.

Ali was at the forefront of a divisive battle over Sisi’s highly controversial decision to transfer two islands to Saudi Arabia. The jovial lawyer spearheaded a successful legal case overruling the government’s decision in January, arguing that the two islands were originally Egyptian, not Saudi. Yet his victory was later doubly crushed. Egypt’s parliament circumvented the court’s decision, meaning that the transfer will go ahead.

Pro-government lawyer Samir Sabry later took Ali to court, accusing him of “making an obscene gesture” during the celebrations of his victory. Ali appealed the decision, but won’t find out until 3 January if his appeal has been accepted. If denied, he will be unable to run in 2018.

If barred from running, Ali’s campaign has no contingency plan, and Egypt’s left will lose its figurehead. “There is no [other] person,” he said. .

Much of Ali’s support base is comprised of large sections of Egyptian youth, who have tended to boycott state politics since Sisi came to power.

If is is able to run, Ali believes he can tempt younger voters back to the ballot box. He presents a flyer showing a declaration of support for his candidacy from the banned April 6 Youth Movement, established in 2008. “This is one of the groups that said they wouldn’t even support an election – and here they are, coming back!” he said, visibly buoyed by the support.

For others, backing from groups like April 6 marks Ali as a permanent outsider.

“I will not vote for President Sisi,” said Hisham Kassem, former editor of the nationalist tabloid Al-Masry Al-Youm. “But I’m hoping for a more formidable candidate than Khaled Ali.”

Kassem believes that a civilian president “needs to be able to deal with the security agencies” capable of undermining Egypt’s leaders, notably Morsi.

“People need to feel confident and see an image of a powerful man,” he said.

Ali says his aim is simply to undermine some of Sisi’s alleged popularity at the ballot box. But even this comes with extreme risks.

Asked if he has anything to add at the end of our interview he jokes: “Don’t forget to bring me food when I go to prison.”



Additional reporting by Adham Youssef