Sisi appears in military uniform to support troops in Sinai

For the first time in his presidency, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi dressed in full military uniform to visit the troops in North Sinai, in his capacity as head of the Armed Forces.

In a televised speech on Saturday afternoon, the president said, “I wore my military uniform out of respect and appreciation for the efforts of the Armed Forces.”

Violence in North Sinai spiked in recent days, when Islamic State-affiliated militant group, Province of Sinai, launched their biggest attack to date on Wednesday, resulting in between 30 and 70 deaths.

During his speech, the president said his visit to North Sinai “should have happened a long time ago,” and he apologized for not visiting before.

The decision for the president to appear in military fatigues is a stark reminder of his own military background, and strong connections to the Egyptian military. The Egyptian constitution explicitly forbids members of the Armed Forces' involvement in politics, to the extent that conscripted soldiers are banned from taking part in national elections during their service.

The title of president in Egypt comes with the role of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and as such, previous presidents Sadat and Nasser would often appear in uniform. However, upon becoming president, Hosni Mubarak refrained from wearing military clothing. Like Sisi; Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak all came from the Armed Forces, and maintained a strong connection with the military throughout their respective periods in office.

After Mubarak's ouster through popular protests in February 2011, the Egyptian military assumed control of the country for over a year before the first round of voting in the presidential elections took place. During this period, there were repeated calls for Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to step down and for power to be passed to a civilian government. He consistently replied that the Armed Forces had no intention of controlling Egypt long-term.

Following Morsi’s ouster by the military in July 2013, it became apparent that Sisi, the defense minister at the time and a key leader in Morsi's removal, would run for president. For his candidacy to be considered constitutional, Sisi stepped down from his military office on March 26, 2014, and was sworn in as president two-and-a-half months later.