Mohamed ElBaradei pulled out of the race for the Egyptian presidency today, saying "the previous regime" was still running the country which has been without a head of state since Hosni Mubarak was deposed last year.
"My conscience does not permit me to run for the presidency or any other official position unless it is within a democratic framework," the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog said in a statement.
Mr ElBaradei had been seen as a frontrunner for the presidency, a post that has been empty since Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power by a mass uprising last February.
But his campaign has been weakened by divisions. In November, some of his campaigners quit, saying he had become cut off from his grassroots base.
Mr ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is respected on the international stage and among pro-democracy campaigners. But he has been criticised for being out of touch with ordinary Egyptians.
The military council which assumed Mubarak's powers says it will hand authority to an elected president by the end of June. It has yet to set a date for the presidential election.
Agencies