Omar Suleiman, the former Egyptian vice-president under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak, announced his intention to run in the next presidential elections, set to take place in May.

Suleiman said in a statement that he retracted his earlier position to refuse to run after calls from his supporters.

"I cannot but meet the call and run in the presidential race despite the constraints and difficulties I made clear in my former statement. I promise to reverse my earlier decision if the needed signatures were ready Saturday," said the statement, the Egypt Independent newspaper reported on its website.