El Sisi, Anan announce presidential bids: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi formally announced on Friday that he will seek a second term in the March 2018 election. Speaking on the final day of the Story of the Nation conference, El Sisi vowed to push ahead with planned reforms if he were re-elected for another four-year term, recounting his administration’s economic and other achievements since he was elected into office. Among the highlights the president singled out: passage of the Investment Act and other economic legislation, implementing the value-added tax, floating the EGP, the passing of tax dispute settlement act, and reforms of the subsidy systems for fuel, commodities and electricity, and an overhaul of the nation’s social welfare system.

He also promised a “free and transparent election,” urging citizens to go out to the ballot boxes “regardless of which candidate they choose.”

Also this weekend, former military chief of staff Sami Anan formally declared his intention to run in a video posted on his official Facebook page (watch here, runtime 5:15). “Rights lawyer Khaled Ali also plans to join the race, but it’s unclear if both will be able to collect the 25,000 voter endorsements needed for the candidacy application before a 29 January deadline,” Bloomberg’s Ahmed Feteha notes.

The pair present El Sisi with “no competition,” says The New York Times, one of several international news outlets that appear to be squarely focused on Sisi’s certain win, especially given the limited scope of competition. “His strongest would-be challenger, Ahmed Shafik, a former general and politician, quietly pulled out of the race this month,” notes the newspaper. Last week, MP Mohamed Anwar Sadat also announced that he would not be contesting the poll, claiming it would be a “lost battle.” The Associated Press says that “Sisi’s announcement confirmed what was long expected and paved the way for his virtually certain triumph in the 26-28 March vote,” while Reuters says the president “is widely expected to win.”

None of the candidates appear to have made their bids official yet. Candidates have a nine-day window running from 20-29 January to submit the required paperwork to officially join the race. The National Elections Commission (NEC) said yesterday, however, that none have come forward yet. The NEC also said that it has reviewed and approved requests from 21 NGO who said they wanted to monitor the elections; it is looking into applications from a further 27, Youm7 reports.

…Meanwhile, Al Masry Al Youm claims that Suez Canal University Professor Mona Al Prince is planning to join the race. Al Prince, who teaches English literature, had been investigated last year for “inappropriate behavior,” after a clip of her dancing on the roof of her home went viral.