Egypt's military chief of staff said on Wednesday the army may transfer power to an elected president on May 24 if the vote is decided in the first round, state television reported.

The announcement came after four presidential candidates suspended their campaigns as the death toll mounted in bloody in clashes between anti-military supporters of a banned Islamist candidate and unidentified men in plainclothes.

The military had previously said it would transfer power by the end of June. The presidential election is scheduled for May 23 and 24 and a run off for June 16 and 17 if there is no outright winner in the first round.

"We are looking into handing over power on May 24 if the president wins in the first round," state television quoted chief of staff Sami Enan as saying.

Several parties, including the dominant Islamist Freedom and Justice Party, are also boycotting a meeting with the military Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi later on Wednesday to resolve various disputes, including one on the make-up of a constituent assembly.

Egypt timeline
Cairo (AFP) May 2, 2012 - Key events in Egypt since the start of the 'Arab Spring' reform movement early last year:

JANUARY, 2011

- 25: Anti-government protests erupt after a revolt topples the ruler of Tunisia.

FEBRUARY

- 11: After daily protests, president Hosni Mubarak steps down and leaves the capital. He hands power to the army, led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Since then, some 850 people have been killed in unrest.

- 12: Promising a peaceful transition to democracy, the army suspends the constitution and dissolves parliament.

MARCH

- 19: Voters approve a proposed new constitution, with 77.2 percent voting "yes."

APRIL

- 13: Authorities say Mubarak has been detained and is being held in a hospital in the eastern resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

- 16: A court dissolves Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

MAY

- 7: Fifteen die and 200 are injured as Muslims and Christians clash in Cairo.

JUNE

- 6: A political party formed by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest opposition group, is declared legal.

- 29: More than 1,000 hurt in clashes between protesters and riot police in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

JULY

- 8: Thousands of people start a sit-in at Tahrir Square to criticise the military rulers over the slow pace of reform.

- 29: Hundreds of thousands of Islamists pack Tahrir Square in the biggest gathering since Mubarak's fall.

AUGUST

- 3: The trial begins of Mubarak, his two sons, his former interior minister and six police commanders.

OCTOBER

- 9: 25 people, mainly Coptic Christians, are killed in clashes with security forces in Cairo.

NOVEMBER

- 19: Start of a week of clashes between police and demonstrators opposed to the military regime that will leave 42 dead.

- 28-29: Egypt holds its first post-revolution election in Cairo and the port city Alexandria. Islamists parties come out ahead.

JANUARY, 2012

- 11: The US State Department's number two sits down with Muslim Brotherhood party leaders.

FEBRUARY

- 1: Riots kill 74 people after a football match in Port Said.

- 22: The verdict in Mubarak's trial is set for June 2. The prosecution has called for the death penalty.

- 29: The presidential vote is set for May 23 and 24, with a second round planned for June 16-17.

APRIL

- 10: An Egyptian court suspends the Islamist-dominated commission tasked with drafting a new constitution amid a boycott by liberals, moderate Muslims and the Coptic church.

- 17: The electoral commission confirms 10 candidates have been barred from running for president, ruling out a challenge by two Islamists and Mubarak's ex-spy chief.

MAY

- 2: At least 20 are killed when thugs attack an anti-military protest near the defence ministry in Cairo. The dead include supporters of Salafist politician Hazem Abu Ismail.

Several presidential candidates announce they have temporarily suspended their election campaigns over the killings.