Barely a week after authorities set a date for Egypt's presidential elections, two hopefuls have launched their campaigns with a barrage of criticism of general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's rule.

El-Sissi has yet to formally announce whether he will run in the March 26-28 election, but he is virtually certain to contest and win another four-year term in office.

Neither rights activist Khaled Ali nor former lawmaker Mohammed Anwar Sadat pose a serious challenge to el-Sissi, but both appear willing to take advantage of the election to air scathing criticism of his rule.

Sadat posted a promotional video on social media networks in which he touts himself as capable of restoring "people's rule" and bringing an end to "corruption" and "oppression." Ali, meanwhile, has decried what he described as authoritarian rule.