Egypt army chief to resign ahead of presidential bid

Rasa - Egypt's military chief, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, will soon announce his resignation to run for the upcoming presidential vote.

News ID: 726

Date: 27 March 2014 - 23:02

Rasa News Agency reports - On Wednesday, el-Sisi met with the country’s military council to inform it of his plan to resign as defense minister in order to officially announce his presidential bid.

Local media reports say Sisi will announce his decision in a broadcast statement.

Sisi was appointed as the general commander of the armed forces and defense minister by the country’s ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, back in 2012. Months later though he played a key role in masterminding Morsi's downfall following a wave of protests.

The latest developments come after the council of military leaders recently released a statement giving its blessing to Sisi's presidential bid, calling it an "obligation" based on popular demand.

State institutions and media are all geared toward Sisi's candidacy, a situation which undermines the chances of a fair competition for any other candidate.

Egypt's political parties and figures have repeatedly called on the country’s army to stay out of politics.

Sisi's victory would place Egypt's presidency back in the hands of a top military official just three years after Egyptians rose up against former dictator, Hosni Mubarak, an air force officer who ruled Egypt for nearly three decades.

Anti-government demonstrators have been holding rallies almost on a daily basis since the army toppled Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president. The demonstrators demand that Morsi be reinstated.

According to a UK-based rights group, Amnesty International, 1,400 people have been killed in the political violence since Morsi’s ouster in July last year, "most of them due to excessive force used by security forces."