January 27, 2014 -- Updated 1820 GMT (0220 HKT)
Egypt's military leadership council gave Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi -- the
army chief who helped oust the country's first democratically elected
president -- its blessing to run for the presidency. FULL STORY
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VIDEO
Egypt's military OKs El-Sisi for presidential run
January 27, 2014 -- Updated 1651 GMT (0051 HKT)
Thousands of Egyptians gather in
Cairo's Tahrir Square during a rally marking the anniversary of the 2011
Arab Spring uprising on Saturday, January 25. A spate of deadly
bombings put Egyptian police on edge as supporters and opponents of the
military-installed government take part in rival rallies for the
anniversary.
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Egyptians mark anniversary of Arab Spring uprising
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is expected to announce soon whether he'll run
- The army chief was defense minister when the military ousted President Morsy last year
- Candidates can officially declare themselves next month
El-Sisi has yet to
announce whether he'll run, but the move by Egypt's Supreme Council of
the Armed Forces essentially is an endorsement of him, said Ehab Badawy,
a spokesman for Egyptian Interim President Adly Mansour.
MENA reported Monday
afternoon that El-Sisi, who was promoted from general to field marshal
earlier in the day, would announce in the next few hours whether he'll
run for the office.
El-Sisi, who was defense
minister when the military ousted President Mohamed Morsy in July, had
said he would run for president if the Egyptian people wanted him to,
state media reported recently.
Clashes erupt at Egypt protests
Al Jazeera jailed journalists
The interim government has not given a date for elections; candidates can officially declare themselves on February 18.
The Arab world's most
populous nation has seen months of political turmoil since the military
deposed Morsy, of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, on July 3
after mass protests against his rule. Demonstrators accused him of
pursuing an Islamist agenda and excluding other factions from the
government.
An interim,
military-backed government was installed in Morsy's place, but Morsy's
supporters have held near-daily protests since his ouster, demanding
that he be reinstated. The protests often have devolved into violence.
This month, Egyptians
overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, with 98.1% in favor, the
Electoral Commission said. But supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood,
which the interim government banned late last year, boycotted the
referendum in response to the crackdown against it.
Morsy was elected in
2012, a year after a popular uprising ousted longtime ruler Hosni
Mubarak. Morsy's supporters say that he wasn't given a fair chance and
that the military has returned to the authoritarian practices of
Mubarak.
CNN's Reza Sayah, Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Yousuf Basil contributed to this report.
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