Cairo: Egypt’s ex-army chief Abdul Fattah Al Sissi on Monday officially submitted his bid to run for president, with his lawyer handing over the required documents to the authorities, a spokesman said.

Al Sisi, who is riding on a wave of popularity after ousting Islamist leader Mohammad Mursi in July, is widely expected to win the May 26-27 election.

The 59-year-old had declared his intention to run for president in late March.

“Lawyer Abu Shoqa submitted the required documents on behalf of [Al] Sissi that include endorsements by citizens, medical reports, and an application for his candidacy,” Ahmad Kamel told AFP.

Under Egyptian law, candidates hoping to run for president need to collect at least 25,000 signatures.

“[Al] Sisi has already received more than 460,000 signatures from citizens across the country endorsing his candidacy,” said Kamel.

The electoral commission is to announce the final field of candidates on May 2, and official campaigning starts a day later.

Leftist leader Hamdeen Sabbahi and Mortada Mansour, a harsh critic of activists who led the 2011 revolt against Hosni Mubarak, have also declared their intention to stand for president.

European Union monitors will supervise next month’s election.

Al Sissi ousted Mursi after millions of people took to the streets protesting against the Islamist’s single year of turbulent rule.

Al Sissi’s likely chief rival in the election is leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who finished a strong third in the first round of the last presidential election, in June 2012.

Meanwhile, a student was shot dead Monday during clashes between supporters of Mursi and police in Cairo University, security officials said.

Clashes erupted when student supporters of Mursi staged protests on university grounds, the officials said, adding that police fired tear gas at from outside the campus and arrested 13 demonstrators.

Clashes were also reported in the University of Zagazig, north of Cairo, where three students were wounded and three were arrested.

Student backers of Mursi have regularly protested on university campuses as a police crackdown on the ousted leader’s supporters has weakened their ability to stage large street protests.

A journalist was wounded while covering the clashes in Cairo University, his employer and witnesses said.

Youm 7, an independent newspaper, said Khalid Hussain was shot in the chest.