Sisi rivals pull out of Egyptian elections

The party of the defeated Egyptian presidential candidate, Hamdeen Sabahi, has said it will boycott forthcoming parliamentary elections in protest at electoral law changes and a crackdown on youth activists.

The Popular Current party's spokesman, Masoum Marzouk, announced the boycott to the Turkish news agency, Anadolu.

He said the decision was taken after "the adoption of the election law without amendments being made to some of its articles as requested, and increased restrictions against young people who make up three-quarters of the party".

Sabahi believes the current election law is paving the way for a return of the Mubarak era.

The secular Popular Current was established in September 2012 to consolidate unexpected support for Sabahi's during the 2012 presidential elections.

The politician, who is a Nasserist, came second, with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi winning 96 percent of the vote.

Sabahi believes the current election law is paving the way for a return of the Mubarak era.

Marzouk added that the party's supporters agreed with the decision, and it was unlikely to be reversed. "The party has exhausted all the means of persuasion and appeal and no one has listened," he added.

Egypt is due to hold parliamentary elections by March.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.