Egypt has announced the dates for the first round of voting for a new president.

Egypt's election commission says voting will be held on May 26 and 27, with results expected in early June.

The commission said Sunday if a second round is necessary, it would be held in mid-June with results expected June 26.

The commission said candidate nominations will open Monday and will be taken until April 20. A three-week campaign period is slated to start in early May.

Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, the general who toppled Egypt's first freely-elected President Mohamed Morsi in July after one year in office, is widely expected to win the election. He enjoys solid support from state-run and privately-owned media.

The commission's announcement comes a few days after military-backed Sissi resigned and announced on state television, while in military uniform, that he would run for president.

So far, the only other candidate for the presidency is leftist-Nasserite politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election won by Morsi. Other hopefuls, including Khaled Ali and Abdel-Moneim Abul Fotouh, have decided to boycott, claiming unfair competition.

Egypt is bitterly divided over Morsi's ouster, but el-Sissi has garnered wide support for his role in it.

U.S. officials say they are focusing now on the freedom of Egypt's electoral process.

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It is up to the people of Egypt to determine their future. And we have also repeatedly said that, as the people of Egypt go to the polls to do that, it must be in a climate that's free from intimidation where people feel they can vote for and support whatever party and whatever candidate they want to," said Deputy State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf. "… we have raised concerns with the interim Egyptian government about the ability for citizens to freely express their opinions."

Especially as most of the recent U.S. human rights concerns followed el-Sissi's toppling of Egypt's first democratically-elected government - leaving Washington in what former U.S. ambassador Adam Ereli calls an awkward position.

"The good side: they're running things. The bad side: they're repressing a lot of dissent.  And not necessarily disloyal dissent but any dissent.  That bothers President Obama and his administration.  It really does," said Ereli.

Egypt was ruled by civilan-dressed generals from the 1952 coup that toppled King Farouk. In July 2012, the country elected its first civilian presidient. A year later, Sissi overthrew him after large protests against his rule. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: War and Conflict