Tough constitutional reforms spur protests from Egyptian opposition

It was Mr Mubarak who first proposed the 34 amendments. They include a formal ban on political parties being established on the basis of religion and changes to electoral laws - both of which are deemed to target the Muslim Brotherhood, the strongest opposition group.

Other proposals include reducing the role of the judiciary in supervising polling, which many fear will en-courage electoral fraud. They also allow for new anti-terrorism legislation, which reformers say would undermine citizens' rights.

The legislation would give police sweeping powers of arrest and authority to monitor communications, critics say, while enabling the president to refer "any terrorist crime to any of the judiciary authorities stated in the constitution or the law".

State of emergency laws have been in place since the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat. Since then, thousands of people have been detained without trial. Mr Mubarak recently said the anti-terror law would be used only to fight terrorism, adding that the amendments were meant to strengthen political parties.