Cairo - Egypt's president says his country has established a democratic system and rebuilt constitutional institutions after years of turmoil following the 2011 uprising.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared the transition complete in a 32-minute address to parliament on Saturday, while noting that Egypt was still struggling to rebuild its economy and confronted Islamic extremists.
Rights groups says al-Sisi's rule has been marked by a deep erosion of freedoms, with thousands of mainly Islamist dissidents in jail; severe restrictions on public protests and a disturbing pattern of police brutality.
Al-Sisi led the July 2013 military overthrow of Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist who was Egypt's first freely elected president. Al-Sisi then retired from the military and was elected president the following year.