CAIRO (AP) — Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Egypt’s former military chief who is poised to win the presidency in elections later this month, said he has plans to make improvements in people’s living conditions within two years but will step down if they rise up against him — without waiting for the army to remove him.

El-Sissi was speaking with the Emirates-based Sky News Arabia, giving his first televised interview as a presidential candidate to foreign media. The first part of the interview was aired Sunday. Riding on a wave of nationalist fervor, the 59-year old el-Sissi faces a single rival in the May 26-27 vote. The media and supporters tout him as the nation’s savior for ousting the elected Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, in July following massive rallies against him and a rising specter of civilian infighting.