FACTBOX: Facts about Egypt's constitutional amendments

(Reuters) - Egyptians have the chance to vote on Monday in a referendum on changes to the constitution.

The government calls the changes reforms but opposition and human rights groups say they will restrict freedoms and strengthen the ruling party's grip on power.

All the main opposition groups -- the Muslim Brotherhood and secular liberals and leftists -- plan to boycott it.

More than 35 million people are eligible to vote but observers say that in some previous referendums the turnout has been less than 10 percent. More than 34,000 polling stations will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (0600 to 1700 GMT).

Here are some facts about the amendments:

-- They enshrine in the constitution a ban on political activity or political parties which have a religious "basis or point of reference". The ban will thwart any attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, or any other Islamist group to form a party.

-- They give the president the right to refer "terrorism" suspects to any court, including military courts, and exempt terrorism cases from the usual restrictions on arbitrary detention, searches and surveillance.

-- They eliminate the right of independent candidates to seek the presidency. Under the present system the Brotherhood could field a presidential candidate as an independent if it won enough seats in parliamentary and local elections.

-- They dilute the role of judges in supervising parliamentary elections. The opposition says this makes it easier for the ruling party to rig the elections.

-- They allow the president to dissolve parliament unilaterally, eliminating a requirement that he seek approval for such a move in a popular referendum. The president could use this provision to wind up the present parliament, where the Muslim Brotherhood holds 20 percent of the seats.

-- They make it possible for the ruling party to change the system for parliamentary elections to a party-list system, which could force the Islamists out of parliament. The existing constitution does not leave room for party-list voting.

-- They eliminate references to "socialism" and say that the economic system is based on "freedom of economic activity".