Sisi campaign launches Instagram account

Former defense minister and current presidential candidate Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched an Instagram account Monday night, and the comments page is already full of praise and obsequiousness.

“Didn't Morsi know that President Sisi is from the army that has a respectable creed and people? If Sisi will rule by iron and fire I'm with him because he's respectable, and Egypt is a country that needs a strong leader, not a paper tiger,” wrote one user.

In the only candid photo, Sisi is shown undergoing medical exams as part of the process for nominating himself to the presidency. Other processes include gathering 25,000 signatures endorsing his candidacy. Sisi’s main competitor in the race, Nasserist Hamdeen Sabbahi, has alleged that public employees in some governorates were mobilized to sign to endorse Sisi.

The account also posted a list of campaign headquarters across Egypt.

Many comments also included the hashtag “I’ll vote for Sisi,” while one user commented using a viral hashtag insulting Sisi, “Elect the 'Aars'.” Aars is an insult difficult to translate into English.