Egypt's Presidential elections will be held in late May, about a month ahead of planned handover of power by the military regime.
This was reported by state-run Al-Ahram newspaper on Wednesday, quoting Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohammed Attia.
Nominations for the elections will be accepted for three weeks starting from March 10 allowing candidates around six weeks for campaigning. The judicial election committee will set the polling date, Attia said.
Under new rules approved in a referendum last year, Presidency is limited to two consecutive, four-year terms.
Egypt's military rulers had pledged repeatedly to deliver on the demands of the "January 25 revolution" that toppled the Hozni Mubarak regime in February last year but Amnesty International said in a recent report that they had in fact been responsible for abuses that was in some aspects worse than under Mubarak.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) had promised to hand over power after presidential elections in June, but Opposition groups have been calling for an immediate transfer of power.
The Army and security forces have violently suppressed protests, resulting in at least 84 deaths between October and December 2011. Torture in detention has continued while more civilians have been tried before military courts in one year than under 30 years of Mubarak's rule.
Amnesty said it feared that 2012 could see further attempts by the military council to restrict the ability of Egyptians to protest and freely express their views.
Activists have expressed concern over the possible intervention of the military junta in the election process, and raised doubt if the vote will be free and fair.
Former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, leading moderate Islamist and former Muslim Brotherhood top official Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, liberal Hamdeen Sabahy, ultra-conservative Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail and former television talkshow host Bothaina Kamel, the first woman to campaign actively for the presidency, are among prominent candidates seeking the presidency. Many of them have already started campaigning.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.