“He wants people who understand the country’s crisis in non-political matters, who know that democracy and elections won’t solve the problems.”

So says a source with access to the halls of power in Cairo, conveying President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s read on the current state of affairs at the end of his second term in office and nearly a decade in power.

Sisi’s second term in office ends on April 1, 2024. Under amendments to the Constitution made in 2019, he can be reelected for a third, six-year term that would run until 2030. Preparations for the election will start in October, with the election to be held in February 2024, State Information Service head Diaa Rashwan announced earlier this month. …