Egypt's presidential candidate Mohamed El Baradei has offered to lead a government of national unity.
The move is raising further pressure on Egypt's ruling generals amid protests demanding an immediate end to army rule.
Activists are calling on citizens to converge again in Cairo's Tahrir Square today, a day before the start of a parliamentary election overshadowed by political turmoil and the threat of violence.
The interim government led by Essam Sharaf resigned last week as protests against army rule intensified in Cairo and other cities.
The violence has left 42 people dead.
Facing its worst crisis since it pushed Hosni Mubarak from office during a popular uprising in February, the army has promised a speedier handover to civilians, offered a referendum on military rule and named a new prime minister.
But demonstrators have rejected the military's choice of the 78-year-old veteran of Egyptian politics, Kamal el-Ganzouri, to lead a new government and say it must hand over power to civilians now.
Some protest groups want El Baradei to head a civilian body that would replace the ruling military council in supervising Egypt's transition to democracy.
El Baradei's campaign team said late yesterday that he was prepared to drop his bid to be the new head of state if he is asked to lead a transition government.
