El-Sisi: No one will tamper with the constitution
President El-Sisi affirmed that no one will tamper with the constitution. He added that the rumors and deliberate attempts to distort public awareness and inflame public opinion over recent months were part of efforts aimed at destabilizing the country and fomenting unrest within the Egyptian state.
His remarks came during a speech Wednesday at the 44th Cultural Symposium of the Armed Forces, titled “Homeland of Heroes,” held on the 53rd anniversary of the October War victories at the Al-Safwa International Conference Center inside the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital.
“The psychological warfare waged against the Egyptian state throughout the recent period, right now, and in the days ahead will continue, because its target is your will as Egyptians,” El-Sisi said. “If they manage to break your will, everything else becomes easy, because we can withstand anything as long as we maintain our resolve.”
Alluding to unspecified efforts to undermine the state, El-Sisi said, “Everything that is being done, has left you, left us, unable to see anything except what they say. They keep rehashing the issue, saying things like, ‘We don’t know who will take over what’ or ‘who will assume which role,’ and talk like that.”
President El-Sisi’s speech at the Cultural Symposium marking the October victories, Oct. 14, 2026
El-Sisi also moved to settle the debate surrounding calls to amend the constitution to extend his presidency. “This country has a constitution, a constitution we all agreed upon, and no one will tamper with it. No one will tamper with it,” he said. “So stop playing games, and let no one manipulate your minds. By the way, whatever is attempted, only the people determine whether it succeeds or fails.”
At the same time, he warned of internal unrest, cautioning that conditions could deteriorate sharply. “This talk has been going on for a while now, and it picked up heavily over the past five or six months, or even this past year,” he said. “Coupled with what our region is going through and the pressures mounting, it could blow up the situation inside Egypt.”
El-Sisi also appealed directly to parents: “To every father and mother responsible for their children in their immediate and extended households, make them aware and help them understand that chaos, and by God I am not trying to scare you, will mean this country will not rise again this time. By God, by God, by God, in 2011, 2012, and 2013, God was gracious to Egyptians, sparing them the devastation that struck other countries and giving us another chance. So protect your country, don’t worry about me.”
When an attendee interrupted the symposium to shout, “We love you, Mr. President,” El-Sisi responded, “I love you too, and I worry about you. But the war on terror left many dead and wounded, and Egypt lost $120 billion.”
Calls have surfaced recently urging constitutional amendments to extend El-Sisi’s presidency, including an online petition drive dubbed Sisi To 2050. The campaign seeks citizens’ signatures to prolong his tenure and refer the measure to the House of Representatives and the Senate for endorsement. The initiative mirrors earlier petition drives, including the 2014 Kamel Gamilak campaign urging him to run for president, the 2017 Ashan Tibneeha campaign backing a second term, and the concerted efforts that paved the way for the 2019 constitutional amendments, which extended presidential terms to six years and permitted an exceptional third term ending in 2030.