The official newspaper in Egypt said on Wednesday that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi approved new legal amendments that prevented former army officers from running for any elections without the consent of the army.
Critics of Sisi, a former army chief who was re-elected to a second term in 2018, say the amendments approved by parliament this month are aimed at stemming any possible opposition from prominent former army officers, which the government denies.
And according to what was published in the official newspaper, the new amendments also enhance the army's role in political life by giving it new powers such as expressing opinions on any proposed constitutional amendments or any bills related to political freedoms, elections and national security.
The amendments say that the Minister of Defense should appoint a military advisor in each of Egypt's 27 governorates.
Previously, only military officers who were still in service were prohibited from any political activity or contesting elections without the permission of the army.
In the new amendments, it is stated that "officers with service or those whose service has ended in the armed forces may not run for the presidential elections, or parliamentary or local councils, except after the approval of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces."
The authorities arrested Sami Annan, the former army chief of staff, in 2018 after the army accused him of seeking to run for the presidential elections without permission. At the time, he was seen as the main rival to Sisi. He was released last December.
The army said at the time of Annan's arrest that he was called up for military service after retirement, and a spokesman for Annan denied any laws were broken.
The army expanded its role during the Sisi era, including in the economy, as it owned companies operating in areas ranging from food to cement production.
Lawyers have criticized the new legal amendments, but Ahmed al-Tantawi, a prominent member of a small opposition parliamentary bloc, told Reuters the bloc voted in favor of these amendments and endorsed what the government said was aimed at "preserving the nation's national secrets."