Cairo: Egypt will hold its presidential polls for three days starting from March 26, an electoral commission said on Monday.
Egyptians working abroad will begin voting on March 16 for three days too, the commission added.
The official result of the polls will be announced on April 2, according to the panel.
In case of run-off, the vote would be held outside Egypt on April 19, 20 and 21; while it will be conducted in the homeland for three days starting from April 24.
The final winner will be announced on May 1.
Head of the commission Lasheen Ebrahim said that the elections will be fully supervised by judges.
"We pledge to manage the elections in absolute integrity," Ebrahim told a press conference.
The commission has given presidential hopefuls nine days to apply starting from January 20.
Eyes on Al Sissi
President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi has not yet formally said he will seek a second term in office.
But he is widely speculated to run in the elections and score a comfortable win.
Al Sissi, an ex-defence minister, has been ruling Egypt since mid-2014 after sweeping a two-contender election.
He is unlikely to face tough challengers in the upcoming polls.
Opposition lawyer Khalid Ali has announced a bid to run for president.
But Ali’s bid is at stake as he was sentenced in September to three months in prison on charges of public indecency.
He has appealed the sentence, claiming the case is politically motivated. If he is finally convicted, he could be disqualified from the presidential race.
On Sunday, ex-prime minister Ahmad Shafiq renounced a plan to stand for president, more than a month after he announced the bid while he was staying in the United Arab Emirates.
Both Shafiq and Ali unsuccessfully contested Egypt’s 2012 presidential elections won by Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In 2013, the army, then led by Ali Sissi, deposed Mursi following enormous street protests against his rule.
