Details have emerged of a proposed timetable for parliamentary elections in Egypt. A formal announcement is expected to be made next week.
The elections are likely to be held in three stages, so the process will take more than a month.
They will be the first since an uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February.
Under the proposal, votes would be held in three stages, beginning on 21 November.
But there is no information about a date for presidential elections, which are not expected before March or April next year.
Egyptian media quoted Election Commission head Abdel Moez Ibrahim as saying voting for the lower house, the People's Assembly, would be in three stages, the first on 21 November and the last on 3 January.
Upper house elections would spread from 22 January to 4 March.
State news agency Mena reported the ruling council would fix the dates in a decree on 26 September.
The BBC reports the opposition has been pressing the military to announce a timetable for the return of civilian rule.