( CNN ) -- Egypt 's military leadership council on Monday gave Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi -- the army chief who helped oust the country 's first democratically elected president -- its blessing to run for the presidency , the state-run Middle East News Agency reported . El-Sisi has yet to announce whether he 'll run , but the move by Egypt 's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces essentially is an endorsement of him , said Ehab Badawy , a spokesman for Egyptian Interim President Adly Mansour . The council added in a statement to state television Monday night that it would be up to El-Sisi to decide , but that it considers his candidacy `` a mandate and an obligation . '' Badawy said that El-Sisi , who was promoted from general to field marshal earlier Monday , would have to retire from the military before running for president . The interim government has not given a date for elections ; candidates can officially declare themselves on February 18 . El-Sisi , who was defense minister when the military ousted President Mohamed Morsy in July , had said he would run for president if the Egyptian people wanted him to , state media reported recently . The Arab world 's most populous nation has seen months of political turmoil since the military deposed Morsy , of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement , on July 3 after mass protests against his rule . Demonstrators accused him of pursuing an Islamist agenda and excluding other factions from the government . An interim , military-backed government was installed in Morsy 's place , but Morsy 's supporters have held near-daily protests since his ouster , demanding that he be reinstated . The protests often have devolved into violence . This month , Egyptians overwhelmingly approved a new constitution , with 98.1 % in favor , the Electoral Commission said . But supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood , which the interim government banned late last year , boycotted the referendum in response to the crackdown against it . Morsy was elected in 2012 , a year after a popular uprising ousted longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak . Morsy 's supporters say that he was n't given a fair chance and that the military has returned to the authoritarian practices of Mubarak . CNN 's Reza Sayah , Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Yousuf Basil contributed to this report .
NEW : Military council says choice is El-Sisi 's , but it highly encourages his candidacy . Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is expected to announce soon whether he 'll run . The army chief was defense minister when the military ousted President Morsy last year . Candidates can officially declare themselves next month .