Former U. S. President Jimmy Carter says there were “irregularities” in Egypt's recent parliamentary elections, but overall the will of the people seemed to be accurately represented.

Mr. Carter spoke at a news conference in Cairo Friday, after spending part of the week helping to monitor the third and last round of elections.

He said the chief prosecutor has received about 900 complaints from Egyptians about the vote. He also said training for election officials was inadequate, and he said he has “great disappointment” that so few women had the chance to run for office. He said women should have a much greater role in government. But overall, he called the results “acceptable.”

On Thursday, Mr. Carter told the Reuters news agency that he does not believe the Egyptian military will give up all of its powers to an elected civilian government soon.

He said an abrupt change in the totality of military authority this year is more than can be expected. He says he military wants to keep as much control as possible.

Mr. Carter says there must be permanent limits on the military written into a new Egyptian constitution.

This year's elections were the first in Egypt since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

Thousands of Egyptians have protested against the transitional military government in recent months, accusing it of trying to put off moves towards a civilian administration.