CAIRO — Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the Egyptian military chief who last summer removed the elected Islamist president, announced Wednesday that he will run for president in elections expected next month.
Wearing his military fatigues in a nationally televised speech, el-Sissi announced he was resigning from the armed forces — a required step because only civilians can run for president. He said he was “answering the demand of a wide range of Egyptians.”
El-Sissi, 59, is widely expected to win the vote. He has been the country’s most powerful figure since removing President Mohammed Morsi.
Morsi’s once politically dominant Muslim Brotherhood has since been declared a terrorist group.
A nationalist fervor has gripped the country since the removal of Morsi, who in 2012 became Egypt’s first freely elected and civilian president. The ouster in July came after massive protests against Morsi and the Islamists.
Since then, the military-backed interim government has waged a fierce crackdown on the Brotherhood, arresting thousands of members and killing hundreds of protesters in clashes. At the same time, militants have waged a campaign of attacks on police and the military.
For months, Egyptian media have been depicting el-Sissi, who was promoted to the rank of field marshal in January, as “the savior of the nation” for removing Morsi — and touting him as the only figure capable of running the country.
Also Wednesday, authorities announced that 919 suspected Islamists, including the top leader of the Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, will face trial on murder and other charges.
