One of Egypt's oldest political parties decided not to field a candidate to challenge President Abdel-fattah el-Sisi in March elections, ending days of intense speculations.
The Wafd party has come under pressure from segments of the pro-government media to field a candidate to prevent a race in which el-Sisi, who is virtually certain to win, is the only candidate.
Some Wafd officials said the party had a "national duty" to do so to counter doubts about the credibility of the vote.
The name of party lead El-Sayed el-Badawi was floated as the likely candidate.
After two days of meetings, the party voted on Saturday against fielding a candidate.
A string of would-be candidates have over the past weeks been arrested, forced out or quit the race for the March vote.
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