The European Union said Thursday it was ready to work "closely" with newly elected Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi but urged him to ensure his government respected human rights and the rule of law.

A former general, Sisi won nearly 97 percent of the vote in last week's polls, nearly a year after he toppled Egypt's first freely elected leader, Islamist Mohammed Morsi.

Egyptian prosecutors on Thursday demanded the "maximum" penalty, ranging from 15 to 25 years in jail, for all 20 defendants in the trial of Al-Jazeera journalists accused of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

Australian journalist Peter Greste and two other detained reporters with Qatar-based Al-Jazeera English are among the accused, in a trial that has triggered international outrage amid growing fears of media restrictions in Egypt.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who romped home in Egypt's presidential election after crushing Islamists, faces a tough task to restore stability and revive a battered economy amid fears of a return to autocracy.

On Tuesday, the electoral commission declared Sisi won 96.91 percent of the vote on turnout of 47.5 percent, nearly a year after he toppled the country's first freely elected leader, Islamist Mohammed Morsi.

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who ousted Egypt's first freely-elected leader, will be sworn in as president on Sunday after he overwhelmingly won last week's election, state media reported.

The electoral commission on Tuesday said Sisi won 96.91 percent of the vote with a turnout of 47.5 percent, nearly one year after he overthrew Islamist Mohammed Morsi.

The United States said Wednesday it looks forward to working with the government of Egyptian president-elect Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, while urging him to carry out human rights reforms.

President Barack Obama will speak with the former army chief in the coming days, the White House said in a statement.

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won 96.9 percent of votes in Egypt's presidential election, the electoral commission announced Tuesday, almost a year after he overthrew elected Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi.

Turnout in last week's election, hastily extended to three days amid fears of low turnout, was 47.45 percent, said commission chief Anwar Rashad al-Asi.

An Egyptian court that sentenced to death 37 Islamists and handed life terms to 492 others defended its verdict on Sunday, saying the men were "demons" who followed Jewish scripture.

The court in the central city of Minya had triggered international outrage earlier this year for sentencing to death hundreds of alleged supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in two separate mass trials which only lasted minuted.

A gang of arms traffickers killed six Egyptian border guards on Sunday after they crossed into the country from Libya, the military said.

"The army deplores the killing of an officer and five soldiers from the army's border protection corps attacked by arms traffickers while patrolling a mountainous area," it said in a statement.

Egypt's outgoing interim president enacted a law on Saturday making it illegal to desecrate the national flag or refuse to stand for the national anthem, his office said.

Those who break the new law will face up to one year in jail.

The election as Egypt's president of ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was never in doubt, with only a token challenger and the banned Muslim Brotherhood and liberal youth groups boycotting the vote.

Preliminary results from this week's two-day election, that was extended to three days because of low turnout, gave 96 percent of votes to the retired field marshal who ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi last July.