Egypt to have `elected` leader by June: Interim President

Interim President Adly Mansour said Egypt will have an "elected" leader in two and a half months, in an interview published by the state-owned Al-Ahram daily.

Cairo: Interim President Adly Mansour said Egypt will have an "elected" leader in two and a half months, in an interview published on Friday by the state-owned Al-Ahram daily.

The Presidential Election is seen as a major milestone in a transitional roadmap outlined by the military-installed authorities for a return to democratic rule after the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July. Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has made no secret of his intention to stand in the election -- which is scheduled to be held sometime this spring -- but has yet to announce his candidacy officially. Since he announced Morsi`s ouster on July 3, Sisi has emerged as Egypt`s most popular political figure and a nationalist icon, with supporters viewing him as a tough leader who can restore stability after three years of unrest following the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. "I am telling you with all confidence that two and a half months from now Egypt will have an elected president and I will hand him the decision-making power," Mansour told Al-Ahram. In January Egyptian voters approved by 98.1 percent a new constitution that grants the military extensive powers but lacks much of the Islamist-inspired wording of the 2012 charter adopted under Morsi. Morsi, Egypt`s first democratically-elected president and the first civilian to hold the post, was ousted following massive street protests against his turbulent single year in power.