Egypt's military rulers have failed to set a date for the country's presidential elections.

It's been over a year since President Hosni Mubarak resigned, but Egyptians have little information on when they will get to participate in the first free presidential vote in decades.

The election commission had previously stated that the vote would take place in June, and the committee is still optimistic about the timetable, according to reports. The June date was promised by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) after massive and bloody protests demanding a quick election took place in November.

The continued fear for protestors is that the delay is an attempt by the SCAF to hold onto power. Presidential elections are one of the steps necessary for the transition of power from military to democratic, civilian rule, along with the creation of a new constitution.

The election commission said that the most recent delay was necessary to figure out how to deal with absentee ballots for the eight million Egyptians living abroad.

“The committee has decided to postpone announcing the schedule for elections until it can reach a solution that will allow Egyptians abroad to vote in a manner that will make their participation real,” Farouk Soltan, the head of the committee, stated.

Presidential candidates will have until March 10 to register, and then the party nomination period will run from until April 8.

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