Cairo, April 21 (IANS): Egypt's electoral commission has ended registrations for next month's presidential election, leaving the race between former military chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Sisi and leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, a media report said Monday.

The first round of the election is slated for May 26 and 27, with Sisi widely expected to win easily after the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last July, Xinhua reported.

According to the Presidential Electoral Commission, Sisi has collected 188,930 signatures and Sabahi 31,555.

Egyptian election law requires candidates to collect at least 25,000 signatures from at least 15 provinces to endorse their candidacy.

Each candidate will appeal against each other Tuesday and Wednesday, and the commission will announce the official list of candidates May 2.

The election campaign will start on May 3.

Sisi enjoys huge popularity since he toppled Morsi in response to the mass protests against his year-long turbulent rule.

However, Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood loyalists launched nation-wide protests against Sisi's military coup.