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Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II said on Sunday that the church would not support either candidate in the country's upcoming presidential race.

"I ask each citizen, Christian or Muslim, to read each candidate's electoral program and choose who he wants to be president," Tawadros said during an interview with Hamel El-Resala, a newspaper issued by the Catholic Church in Egypt.

The elections, scheduled for 26-27 May, will feature two candidates – ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi.

The International Criminal Court said on Thursday it had rejected a bid by the Muslim Brotherhood of deposed president Mohamed Mursi to probe the military's alleged crimes against humanity in Egypt.

"A communication seeking to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC over Egypt has been dismissed as not presented on behalf of the concerned State," the ICC said in a statement.

The request had been made on behalf of the Freedom and Justice Party of former Islamist president Mursi, ousted by Egypt's powerful military in July in what his supporters say was a coup.

The Salafi Nour Party will convene on Saturday to announce the name of the presidential candidate it will support in the upcoming presidential election, said Osama Shokr, a senior member of the party.

Younis Makhioun, Nour Party President, told Aswat Masriya exclusively last week that the party's decision is an institutional one.

It is enough for the party that the candidate does not oppose Islam and is religious as Egyptians are, Makhioun said.

Many Iraqis viewed this week’s parliamentary elections as their last hope and went to cast their votes even though they were not particularly optimistic. Meanwhile, the violence in the country showed no signs of abating in the days leading up to the elections, with gunmen killing candidates and bombers assaulting election commission offices and campaign gatherings.

Egypt’s Minister of Endowments said that has given strict orders to all mosque Imams to avoid using mosques as a means of campaigning for any presidential candidate.

The new regulations state that mosques are to avoid politics as well as all that is related to the electoral process, Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa told Aswat Masriya on Thursday.

“Any Imam who does not adhere to these regulations will be severely punished,” said the minister.

Egypt's Presidential Elections Commission plans to convene to discuss the punishment of Hamdeen Sabahi for announcing his electoral program ahead of the official date for the campaigns to kick off on May 2, an official from the commission said.

Sabahi announced his vision in a press conference on Wednesday. 

According to the constitution, candidates who breach the set dates shall be fined anything from EGP 10,000 to 500,000. 

Sabahi and former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are competing in a presidential election in May.