UPDATE - Egypt's Sisi to seek second term as president

UPDATES WITH EX-ARMY CHIEF'S PRESIDENTIAL BID

By Aydogan Kalabalik and Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi

CAIRO (AA) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Friday he will seek reelection as a second term president in the 2018 elections.

Al-Sisi announced his candidacy after the 'Story of a Nation' conference in the capital Cairo, where he highlighted his achievements over the past four years.

Egypt’s presidential elections are scheduled to take place from March 26 to 28.

A former army general, al-Sisi came to power in 2014.

He played a leading role in Egypt’s 2013 military coup, which saw the ouster and imprisonment of the country’s first freely elected leader, Mohamed Morsi.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s former military chief of staff Sami Anan early Saturday announced his presidential bid.

In a video posted on his social Facebook account, Anan said he will run in the upcoming elections to save Egypt.

Born in February 1948, Anan held many posts in Egyptian armed forces since his graduation from Air Defense Faculty in 1967.

He participated in the October 1973 war, between Egypt and Israel, and was promoted to several military positions, until he became commander of the air defense forces, before becoming chief of staff in 2005.