Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution in a referendum, state media reported on Thursday, a victory that paves the way for the army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president.

Initial results showed 90 percent of voters supported the new charter.

The vote advances a transition plan the army unveiled after deposing Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The next step is expected to be a presidential election for which Sisi, 59, appears to be the only serious candidate.

Officials have said that Sisi, who toppled Morsi, will closely monitor turnout as he mulls going for the top job in an election promised for later this year.

Before the referendum, Sisi said he is prepared to run if there is enough popular support.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, designated a terrorist group by the military-installed authorities, had called for a boycott, seeing the vote as part of a coup that would revive an oppressive police state.

But an Interior Ministry official said turnout appeared to be more than 55 percent. The official result is expected to be announced on Saturday.

"The approval of the new constitution in the referendum would also be an approval of the army's political transition roadmap," Li Guofu, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

Li said that restoring the stability of the country has been the public's will in Egypt and most Egyptians have grown tired of political unrest and conflict. "Egypt needs a powerful leader backed by the army," said Li.

The US State Department Tuesday said a bill expected to pass in Congress on Friday will allow the White House to unfreeze all $1.5 billion aid to Egypt if it can certify the country "has held a constitutional referendum, and is taking steps to support a democratic transition."

"The fact that Egypt is the key ally of the US in Middle East has never changed," said Li.

Agencies contributed to this story