It was in a room packed with reporters on Wednesday night that the last serious challenger in the Egyptian presidential elections announced his intention to step down. Khaled Ali, a well-known, left-leaning activist, told the room he could no longer continue the race, citing “many violations” on the part of the electoral commission, and violence against his staff. “There was a furious reaction to our campaign,” he told journalists, “the security forces arrested many members of my staff.”