Egypt holds presidential election at the end of March

cairo - Egypt holds presidential elections from 26 to 28 March. The incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to throw a second term.

Sisi has yet to announce his candidacy. He achieved a great victory after the military overthrow of the then-elected president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.

Candidates must submit their participation to the election committee between 20 and 29 January. The National Electoral Commission said that if necessary a second round will take place from 24 to 26 April. Sisi's most serious potential challenger, former prime minister Ahmed Shafik, withdrew his candidacy on Sunday.

In a statement on Twitter, he said to have come to the conclusion that he was not the ideal person to lead the country in the coming period. Shafik narrowly lost the 2012 presidential election from Mohamed Mursi. Shafik left for the United Arab Emirates after his election defeat. He returned to Egypt at the end of last year.

It will be the third presidential election in Egypt since the uprising of 2011 put an end to the long reign of strong man Hosni Mubarak.