A legal panel appointed by the military has recommended a package of 10 constitutional amendments that include setting a two-term limit for presidents and removing restrictions that made it almost impossible for independent candidates to compete.
The Supreme Military Council, which has been running the country since Hosni Mubarak was ousted as president on February 11, insists it has to hand over power to an elected civilian authority within six months.
The tight schedule, however, has been criticised by the young activists who led the revolt because they say it does not give new political forces sufficient time to organise.
They say the schedule will favour remnants of Mr Mubarak’s National Democratic party, which may have been discredited in public eyes, but still controls all local councils around the country.
“If elections are held hastily the NDP will gain a large proportion of the seats and the revolution will be overturned,” said Shady el-Ghazali Harb, one of the young leaders of the revolution.
Analysts say that in rural areas clans and big families, which traditionally presented candidates under the banner of the NDP, are likely to remain decisive in the coming election given the absence of viable opposition forces.
Mr Ghazali Harb and other youth activists met members of the military earlier this week and said the officers were determined to stick to their schedule. He said the council’s position was that it had promised it would not hold power for more than six months and it did not want to be seen to be going back on its word.
“We are telling them they don’t have to extend the transition,” said Mr Ghazali Harb. “We want them to appoint a provisional presidential council or at least to hold the presidential election before the parliamentary election.”
So far there have been no changes to the rules governing the formation of political parties, so it is not certain that new parties will be established in time for the election.
Critics also say that even if new parties were to be given an immediate green light, they would still require more time to gather supporters across the country.
The Brotherhood is regarded as the most organised political force in the country, but it has promised not to seek a majority in parliament or to present a presidential candidate this time.
Life in Egypt’s capital is still not back to normal. New tents have been pitched by protesters in Tahrir Square, the centre of the revolt against Mr Mubarak, schools remain closed, and the reopening of the stock exchange, which was scheduled for Tuesday, was delayed again, until Sunday.