Egypt's ruling generals have offered to transfer power to a civilian president by July in an attempt to defuse a political crisis that has disrupted plans for the country's first free election in decades.
The military council, in power since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown on 11 February, also agreed at a meeting with politicians to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet and to replace it with a national government.
"We agreed on July as the month to transfer power to a civilian president," said Emad Abdel Ghafour, head of the Salafi Islamist Nour (Light) Party.
He said a president would be elected in June ahead of a power transfer in July. Under the previous army timetable, the vote might not have taken place until late 2012 or early 2013.
Anger against the military council exploded this month after a cabinet proposal to set out constitutional principles that would permanently shield the army from civilian oversight.
Mr Ghafour and other politicians at the meeting said parliamentary elections would start as planned on Monday.
The concessions come after five days of protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square and violence that has cost at least 36 lives.
About 5,000 people also marched in the port city of Alexandria to join 2,000 already demonstrating against army rule outside a military command headquarters.
Amnesty International has accused the military authorities of committing greater human rights abuses than the Mubarak regime in some cases.
In a report drawn up before the latest violent crackdown on protesters in Cairo, Amnesty accused the military leaders of failing to live up to their promise to improve human rights.
The US, which gives Egypt's military $1.3bn a year in aid, has called for an end to the "deplorable" violence in Egypt and said elections there must go forward.
