Egypt's Morsi moves elections earlier

The first round of voting in Cairo and four other provinces will now be held on April 22, rather than April 27.

The president's spokesman said the move, announced Saturday, was needed after Coptic Christians complained the original date clashed with Easter. Morsi had announced the April 27 date on Thursday.

Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei called Saturday for a boycott of parliamentary elections, drawing immediate criticism from some within his movement who said it was a hasty decision.

The dispute showed the fragility of a fairly new opposition front forged after the deeply fragmented movement found little success at the polls since it led the 2011 uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak.