President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt said today he had proposed an amendment to the Egyptian constitution to allow more than one candidate to stand in presidential elections, a key demand of opposition parties.
Mr Mubarak said in a televised speech he had proposed to parliament changing the constitution "to give the opportunity to political parties to enter the presidential elections and provide guarantees that allow more than one candidate to be put forward to the presidency for people to choose among them freely."
Under the existing system, parliament, which is dominated by Mr Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), has to approve the sole candidate for a presidential referendum that was due to go ahead in September.
The United States has repeatedly called for political reform in Egypt, which is a key US ally in the region and major recipient of US aid.
Mr Mubarak, who has been in office since 1981, said the proposal to change article 76 of the constitution, which outlines the presidential referendum procedures, had been presented to the lower and upper houses of parliament today.
The 76-year-old president said the issue would then go to a public referendum "before the coming presidential race".
Opposition parties have long called for a multi-candidate presidential poll. A campaign to change the constitution to allow more than one candidate to stand for elections had recently gathered momentum.
On Monday, Egyptians staged the largest protest in Cairo since the launch of the campaign against the continued rule of Mr Mubarak.
Three activists had earlier announced their intention to seek the nomination to run in the presidential referendum, in what was seen as a largely symbolic gesture.