Egypt announced on Wednesday that the referendum on a new constitution would take place on two separate dates a day after army chief urged a national dialogue in order to solve the ongoing crisis in the country.

Egypt announced on Wednesday that the referendum on a new constitution would take place on two separate dates; a day after army chief urged a national dialogue in order to solve the ongoing crisis in the country.

The electoral commission announced that the vote, initially set only for December 15, will take place both on Saturday and a week later on December 22, state television said.
The respective rounds of the referendum will be divided into two regions, Nile TV added.

The draft constitution, approved by an Islamist-dominated council last month, has become the focus of Egypt's worst political crisis since President Mohamed Mursi's election in June.

Rival mass rallies have become an almost daily occurrence in Cairo, and clashes between Islamists and secular-leaning opposition last Wednesday killed seven people and injured hundreds more.
On Tuesday, the army Chief has called for talks between Mursi and opposition leaders.

Major General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Commander-In-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, invited all parties to meet for a meeting in Cairo scheduled for 14:30 GMT on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

"We will neither speak about politics nor about the referendum. Tomorrow we will sit together as Egyptians," Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at a gathering of army and police officials on Tuesday.