A veteran Egyptian politician who is close to the country's military rulers and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood announced on Wednesday he would run in the presidential election on 23 May.
Mansour Hassan, the head of the Advisory Council to Egypt's military rulers and a culture and information minister under the late President Anwar Sadat, confirmed his presidential plans to Reuters by phone.
State news agency MENA had previously reported he was planning to stand in the election.
"The details of my nomination will be announced in a news conference within two days," Hassan told Reuters.
His name was among those local media had listed as possible candidates.
He enjoys support from a number of political parties and may be officially endorsed by the Muslim Brotherhood's powerful Freedom and Justice Party that controls 51 percent of the seats of the upper and lower houses of parliament combined.
In January, the FJP denied reports it had chosen Hassan as its preferred presidential candidate, and it is not likely to reveal who it is backing for some time.
On Saturday 10 March the high elections commission will start officially receiving the presidential candidacy applications.
