CAIRO - Former armed forces chief of staff General Sami Anan said on Saturday he intended to run in the presidential election in March.
In a video declaration posted on Anan's official Facebook page, he said he will run for president to save Egypt from incorrect policies and called on state institutions to maintain neutrality toward all candidates and not take sides.
General-turned-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced late on Friday he would run for a second term. The election is Egypt's third since the 2011 uprising that deposed President Hosni Mubarak.
"I call on civilian and military institutions to maintain neutrality towards everyone who had announced their intention to run and not take unconstitutional sides of a president who will leave his post in a few months," Anan said.The vote will be held on March 26-28, with a run-off vote on April 24-26 if no candidate wins more than 50 percent in the first round. Candidates will register from Jan. 20 to 29