Egypt's military leaders have endorsed army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi for president, hours after he was promoted to the rank of Field Marshall, the highest in the country's armed forces, dpa reported.| President and Field Marshall! Rommel never had it so good! |
Members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had met for several hours to discuss al-Sissi's possible bid for presidency. Their decision comes after tens of thousands gathered in central Cairo, on the third anniversary of the 2011 revolt that ousted Hosny Mubarak, to pressure al-Sissi to run for the post.
Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour announced earlier Monday that he had promoted al-Sissi to the rank of Field Marshall.
Al-Sissi, who announced the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July, earlier this month gave his clearest indication of where he sees his political future.
"If I nominate myself, this should come after demands from the people and a mandate from the army," he said at a military ceremony in Cairo.
He is expected to sweep the vote, as he is the country most popular leader since Morsi's ouster.
Pro-army groups have launched a series of campaigns in recent months, collecting petitions for al-Sissi to run in this year's expected presidential election. Egypt will hold presidential elections before parliamentary polls. No specific dates have been announced yet.