Ex Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafik is no longer considering running for president in this year’s elections, he said in a statement posted on his Twitter account on Sunday.

Shafik, an ex-air force commander, was seen as the most serious potential challenger to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in an election due early in the year, though Sisi has yet to officially announce his candidacy.

“I saw that I will not be the ideal person to lead the state during the coming period. Thus I have decided not to run in the upcoming 2018 presidential elections,” Shafik’s statement said.