Since el-Sissi was elected in May in a vote boycotted by the Brotherhood, he has passed laws by executive decree, while solidifying his influence over state institutions.

Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for the center-left Dostour party, said his group is spending most of its time trying to get 11 of its members released from prison after they were arrested at protests.

“Instead of working in politics and trying to build a constituency for elections, I'm running after them in police stations,” he said.

Political parties are heavily disadvantaged by the election law, passed by decree last year. It allows party lists to contest just 20 percent of the 567 seats. The list that wins a simple majority will take all the seats in each district, making things tougher for small parties.

Nearly 75 percent of the assembly is reserved for candidates running as individuals, races in which prominent, wealthy local figures have the best chance.

Moreover, individuals can form a slate and run against parties for the list seats. Another 5 percent will be appointed by the president, a measure meant to give seats to underrepresented minorities.

The result, opposition activists say, will be a parliament dominated by well-connected businessmen and one or two parties loyal to el-Sissi.

“People can control these elections with money or with family ties,” said Bassem Kamel, a leading member of the Social Democratic Party. “It's the worst election law in the world.” But, he said, parties have no choice but to “play according to their rules.”

“This is a survival election,” Dawoud said. “If we don't get into this election and win a number of seats, our parties will disappear. That's really my main fear.”

In the statement announcing their office closure, the Carter Center pointed to “restrictions on democratic freedoms,” which it said mean that public debate is limited and that campaigning could be “difficult—and possibly dangerous—for critics of the regime.”

The government's supporters reject those characterizations, insisting the field is wide open for anyone who wants to compete. El-Sissi is not a member of any party and portrays himself as being above the fray.

“If the president is with a party, then that party will take all the privileges. That party will be number one ... and he doesn't want that,” said Sameh Seif al-Yazal, a retired general close to el-Sissi.

Al-Yazal says he plans to run on a list put together by a Mubarak-era prime minister that is made up of “real Egyptians,” including former government ministers, a pro-government television personality and a former Supreme Court justice.

“I think because (political parties) are weak they want everything easy for them,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “You have to go through the battle and prove to the people, prove to the government, prove to the president, prove to the Egyptians that, yes, you can do it.”

Critics say secular democratic parties in Egypt, most formed since 2011, have failed to unite or work to build constituencies.

But Dawoud said the current atmosphere makes it difficult for fledgling parties to grow.

In the coming election, he fears, the only real competition will be “in expressing loyalty to el-Sissi.”