Former military chief of staff Lieutenant General Sami Anan, who had announced his candidacy last week, was taken to the Military Prosecutor’s office in Cairo, according to his son and one of his lawyers, who were waiting outside the building.
An army statement read on state TV said Anan’s presidential bid amounted to “a serious breach of the laws of military service”, because as a military officer he was required to end his service and seek permission before seeking office.
Anan’s spokesman denied he had broken any laws.
The charges “come from an inaccurate reading of Anan’s announcement,” Hazem Hosni told Reuters, without elaborating.
The campaign announced Anan was halting his bid.
“To be banned by the state to enter the elections...(means) that the state doesn’t want to hold an election,” Anan’s spokesman Hosni said.
The military declined to comment on Anan’s detention.
The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Military Prosecution later issued a statement banning media coverage of its investigation into Anan.
A witness who knows Anan told Reuters the candidate was detained while driving to his office shortly before the army statement was broadcast.
His car was stopped by what appeared to be armed military police on a main road in Cairo. Anan, who served as armed forces chief of staff from 2005-2012, was the final high profile challenger to Sisi left in the race after a number of others dropped out, some citing intimidation by the authorities.
“He was the longest-serving chief of staff but that didn’t stop them arresting him,” Anan’s office director Mustafa al-Shal said outside the Military Prosecutor’s office. Egypt’s president’s office and government press centre have not commented on the election race.
The electoral commission has said it will ensure the vote is fair and transparent. Sisi, who as military chief led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 and was elected president the following year, announced last week he will seek a second term in the election set for late March.
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