Egypt’s ex-army chief says he decided to run for president because of threats facing country

CAIRO – Former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi says that he decided to run for president of Egypt because of the “threats” facing the country, speaking in the first TV interview of his campaign.

El-Sissi had said last summer after removing Islamist Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, that he did not have political aspirations. Asked in the interview with Egyptian TV aired Monday evening when he changed his mind, he said it was because of “the threats facing Egypt from inside and outside,” adding that “it was not possible for me to abandon the people.”

El-Sissi is widely seen as the certain victor in the May 26-27 presidential election.

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