Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has formally submitted his candidacy for the March election. The president handed over the necessary documentation to the National Election Authority. Two other main candidates have withdrawn from the race. Adel EL Mahrouky reports from Cairo.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has become the first to complete his 2018 presidential election application. On Wednesday, his team submitted 175 thousands of signatures of support to the elections authority fulfilling all requirements, five days before the official deadline.
YASSIN GHALLAB, POLITICAL ANALYST AHRAM MASSAEI "The president has come forward with a strong presentation of his achievements in his first time. That includes stabilising Egypt and returning in to the international stage. The president says under him 11-thousand projects were started. I think that's why so many rushed to support him."
But while the President moves forward announcing his campaign team, more candidates drop out from the race. On Wednesday night, Khaled Ali the only candidate remaining in the race has quit, accusing the government of interfering in the elections.
KHALED ALI LAWYER "We will not go through with this presidential race, and we will not submit the paperwork for our candidacy. We will not support an administration that only cares about its desires. May Egypt remain free and a home for equality."
HALA FOUDA, MEMBER KHALED ALI CAMPAIGN TEAM "Since we began our campaign our team has been harassed by government employees. Many of our supporters say their request to issue signatures of support was rejected."
Before Ali, three other prominent politicians have quit the Presidential race. One of them, former army general Sami Anan, was forced to, after the armed forces opened an investigation accusing him of forging official documents and running without permission. There is no other well-known politician running up till now, which means the President may be running alone this year.
YASSIN GHALLAB, POLITICAL ANALYST AHRAM MASSAEI "From a procedural and legal perspective, there's nothing standing in president el-Sisi's way. The law states if there's only one candidate, he must win 5 percent of the electorate's votes."
ADEL EL MAHROUKY CAIRO, EGYPT "If confirmed, and if president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi becomes the sole candidate in the race to become president for a second term, he must get at least three million votes. And many doubt that will be a tough challenge. In 2014, el-Sisi won more than 23 million votes. Adel EL Mahrouky, CGTN, Cairo."