Egyptian presidential candidate Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the country’s former military chief, warned newspaper editors Thursday not to cover freedom-of-speech issues or press for other democratic reforms, as such actions could lead to protests that jeopardize national security.

Sisi is seen as the overwhelming favorite to win the May 26-27 vote.

Sisi made the remarks during a four-hour meeting with about 20 editors of Egypt’s leading newspapers. Parts of the meeting were aired on a private television network and published on news websites.

Sisi told the editors that freedoms must be balanced with national security concerns, and that the media should focus its efforts on rallying public support for “the strategic goal” of “preserving the Egyptian state.”

He also warned the editors against "scaring people" with coverage that "creates skepticism or uneasiness in society."

In reference to recent anti-government protests, Sisi said: "You write in the newspaper, ‘No voice is louder than freedom of speech!' What is this? What tourist would come to a country where we have demonstrations like this? You know that there are millions of people and families who can't earn their living because of the protests. It is one of the manifestations of instability."

Most of the newspapers whose editors attended the meeting, while reporting the comments, focused their headlines on Sisi's remarks about plans to fight corruption and poverty.

Sisi also told the editors not to launch negative media campaigns against officials, and instead give the new government time to work.

"Give officials a chance for, say, four months," he said. "If you have information or a subject you need to whisper in the ear [of officials], it is possible to do that without exposing it."

"Our problem is that we call up images of Western democracies that have been stable for hundreds of years and drop them into our reality," he said, adding that it could take "20 or 25 years to reach a stage of complete democracy.”