Egypt ‘sets dates’ for parliamentary vote

Egypt will hold its first parliamentary election in three phases from November 21, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper said.

This will be the country’s first vote since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled seven months ago.

The newspaper quoted the head of the electoral committee Abdel Muiz Ibrahim as saying a senate election will follow on January 22.

“A proposed timetable is in place for parliamentary and senate elections, with the first stage of parliamentary elections starting on November 21,” it quoted him as saying.

The three-stage election will end on January 3, he said.

Another member of the committee that said that these dates should be announced by the ruling military supreme council and not by the committee itself, our correspondent in Egypt Sherine Tadros reported. 

Political parties are due to meet members of the ruling military council on Sunday to discuss preparations for the elections.

“The meeting will be between various political groups and forces in the country and the supreme council, the point of the meeting is to discuss the details of the election law and precise election date.

“This is indicative of the political vacuum in the country and the confusion of who has what authority in Egypt,” our correspondent added.

The country’s ruling military council has been under pressure to fix a precise date for the election it had promised to hold when it took over after Mubarak was forced to step down in February.

The last parliamentary election, in November 2010, was swept by the National Democratic Party, which a court dissolved after Mubarak was ousted from power.