Egypt’s National Elections Authority (NEA) said on Monday it had not yet received any candidacy forms from presidential hopefuls by the second day of the nomination window for the 2018 presidential elections.

The NEA opened to applications on Sunday for candidates who wish to nominate themselves for the elections. The nomination period will continue until 29 January.

In a press statement, NEA spokesman Mahmoud El-Sherif said more than 710,000 endorsements have been submitted by citizens nationwide for around 23 potential candidates.

The authority is set to announce and publish the preliminary list of candidates on 31 January in the Al-Ahram and Al-Akhbar newspapers.

Presidential elections are set to take place 26-28 March, with a possible run-off scheduled for 24-26 April. If no run-offs are necessary, the winner will be announced on 2 April.

On Friday, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced his intention to run for a second term, with former army Chief of Staff Sami Anan announcing late Friday he will also be running.

Several others have also announced their candidacy for president, including prominent rights lawyer Khaled Ali and lawyer and Zamalek Sporting Club chairman Mortada Mansour.