Egypt will hold a presidential poll this year ahead of parliamentary elections, interim president Adly Mansour says, in a move seen to benefit the army chief if he stands.
The military-installed government says the elections will restore democratic rule by the end of the year, after July's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The presidential election would be held from mid-April, according to a timetable included in a constitution adopted in a referendum this month.
It had initially planned parliamentary elections first, but it has rescheduled the polls in line with demands for a president to be elected before the legislature, Mansour said.
"I have taken a decision to amend the roadmap of the future by starting with a presidential election," he said in an address on state television.
Holding the presidential election first is expected to influence the outcome of the parliamentary poll.
Candidates for the legislature are likely to rally around the elected president to improve their chances at the ballot box.
This would mean a friendlier legislature for the president, analysts say.
Sisi is the only serious potential candidate at the moment, although he has yet to announce his widely anticipated candidacy.
The powerful army chief has said he would stand in the election if there were "popular demand".
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