Mohamed ElBaradei Abandons Bid for the Egyptian Presidency

Headed by the man who was Mubarak's defense minister for two decades, the military council says it has no interest in government and is working to move Egypt toward democracy.

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ElBaradei took aim at the way the transition was being managed. "The randomness and the mismanagement of the transitional period are pushing the country away from the aims of the revolution," he said in a statement.

His remarks added to a recent wave of criticism targeting the generals. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said this week they looked unlikely to surrender all of their powers by the middle of the year, as promised.

His Carter Center, which has been monitoring the legislative elections, said the council's lack of transparency had created "uncertainty about their commitment to full civilian leadership."

ElBaradei was head of the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2009. In 2010, he returned to Egypt and began to speak out against Mubarak's rule. He took part in the protests that led to Mubarak's downfall on Feb. 11.

A favorite of Egyptian liberals and pro-democracy activists, the bespectacled lawyer was initially seen as a leading candidate for the presidency.

Grassroots Support

However, ElBaradei's campaign had been weakened by divisions. In November, some of his campaigners quit, saying he had become cut off from his grassroots base.

"ElBaradei acknowledges he may not have the grassroots support to win in this presidential election," said political analyst and activist Hassan Nafaa. "He also realizes that the next president will not have full powers and will be bound by the current system," he added.

"By pulling out of the presidential race, he is aligning himself with the youth movement and the liberals, who have been sidelined in the interim process by Islamists."