20 April 2014
Last updated at 18:18 ET
Mr Sabahi faces an uphill struggle against the popular Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in May's election
Mr Sabahi, who came third in a 2012 poll, submitted his candidacy on Sunday, the final day of registration.
Analysts say Mr Sisi is the favourite to win the presidency. The first round of voting is on 26 and 27 May.
Mr Sisi led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last July after mass protests.
Mr Sabahi, a long-time opposition activist, was jailed over a dozen times under previous Egyptian governments.
His secular Popular Current party was part of an anti-Morsi alliance called the National Salvation Front.
The required number for registration is 25,000. Reports say Mr Sisi gathered 200,000 signatures.
Mr Sisi resigned from his post as army chief in March because Egyptian law does not allow soldiers to stand for the presidency.
Media under pressure
Egypt election: Sabahi sole challenger to Sisi
Mr Sabahi faces an uphill struggle against the popular Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in May's election
Egyptian
left-winger Hamdeen Sabahi will be the only challenger to ex-army chief
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the upcoming presidential election.
Analysts say Mr Sisi is the favourite to win the presidency. The first round of voting is on 26 and 27 May.
Mr Sisi led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last July after mass protests.
Mr Sabahi, a long-time opposition activist, was jailed over a dozen times under previous Egyptian governments.
His secular Popular Current party was part of an anti-Morsi alliance called the National Salvation Front.
Continue reading the main story
Hamdeen Sabahi profile
- Born in 1954 in the coastal city of Baltim
- Founded the Nasserist Karama party in 1996
- Elected as an MP in 2000
- Jailed for opposition to Iraq war in 2003
- Helped found the anti-Morsi National Salvation Front
Mr Sabahi gathered 31,100 signatures backing his bid, his campaign team said.
Mr Sisi resigned from his post as army chief in March because Egyptian law does not allow soldiers to stand for the presidency.
Media under pressure
If no candidate wins more than 50% in the first round of voting, a second will be held in June.
If Mr Sisi does become president, he will be the latest in a
line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military, going back to the 1950s
- a line only briefly broken during President Morsi's year in office.
Human rights groups say the military-backed authorities have displayed increasing hostility to independent media and to political opponents.
Since Mr Morsi's overthrow more than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands of members of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood been detained by the interim authorities, who have designated the Islamist movement a terrorist group.
Cairo campaign poster for Mr Sisi. He overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last July
Human rights groups say the military-backed authorities have displayed increasing hostility to independent media and to political opponents.
Since Mr Morsi's overthrow more than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands of members of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood been detained by the interim authorities, who have designated the Islamist movement a terrorist group.
Egypt in crisis
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Muslim Brotherhood
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Moscow's gambit
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Q&A: Morsi trial
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'Verdict on the army'
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Draft constitution
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Q&A: A yes or no on Egypt's future
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Referendum in 60 secs
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Power struggle
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'Tired, not defeated'
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Years of turmoil
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Back to a generals' republic?
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Mubarak profile
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Officials in the dock
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Bowen: From euphoria to tragedy
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Making of Gen Sisi
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