DHAKA: Egyptian interim prime minister Hazem el-Beblawi said on Thursday he backed General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for president, one of the highest-level endorsements for a widely expected presidential bid by the army chief.

General Sisi, who deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July after mass protests against his year-long rule, has yet to announce his candidacy for an election that could happen as soon as March or April.

‘General Sisi has a very strong popular support and definitely he is a candidate who we can count on but of course the final judge is the people,’ Beblawi said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, reports The Straits Times.

General Sisi is seen as the only real contender for the presidency.

BDST: 1903 HRS, JAN 23, 2014