CAIRO — At a time of crisis for the Egyptian economy, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the strongest candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, has begun formulating his electoral program amid promises of substantial financial support from the Gulf.

Following months of delay and popular demands that he submit his candidacy for the presidency, Sisi finally resigned from his post as commander-in-chief of the armed forces March 26 in anticipation of running in the presidential elections scheduled for May.

Sisi, who led the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi last July, is facing a range of challenges that might put him in an awkward position with his base, which hopes he will solve the deteriorating economic situation. These high hopes led Sisi to emphasize, in his resignation speech, that he did not “possess miracle cures.” He did not mention his economic reform policy.

“The Egyptian economy is suffering from crushing crises that all governments that came to rule after the January revolution were unable to contend with, despite announcements pertaining to a number of strategies aimed at raising the efficiency of the country’s economy,” Sharif Jaballah, an economist and researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor.