CAIRO – Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who ousted Egypt’s first freely elected leader, declared his candidacy on Wednesday, March 26, for a presidential election he is expected to easily win.

Sisi toppled Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last July after mass protests against his rule and has emerged as the most influential figure in an interim administration that has governed since then.

“I am here before you humbly stating my intention to run for the presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt,” Sisi said in a televised address to the nation. “Only your support will grant me this great honor.”

A Sisi presidency would mark a return to the days when Egypt was led by men from the military, a pattern briefly interrupted by Morsi’s one year in office after his 2012 victory in Egypt’s first democratic presidential election.

Dressed in military fatigues, Sisi vowed to fight what he described as a terrorist threat facing Egypt, a reference to militant attacks that have spiraled since he ousted Morsi.

“True, today is my last day in military uniform, but I will continue to fight every day for an Egypt free of fear and terrorism,” said Sisi, 59, who had to resign his posts of army chief and minister of defense so he could run in the election.

General Sedki Sobhi, formally chief of staff, replaces Sisi as head of the army.

Seeking to cap sky-high expectations, Sisi warned he could not perform “miracles” in a country of 85 million that is steeped in poverty. “I cannot make miracles. Rather, I propose hard work,” he said.