Egypt ‘sets dates’ for parliamentary vote
Election for the lower house of parliament to take place on November 21, say reports.
 |
| This election will be the country’s first since President Honsi Mubarak was ousted seven months ago [EPA] |
Egypt’s election commission has set November 21 as the date for the election to the lower house of parliament, the country’s first vote since President Honsi Mubarak was toppled seven months ago.
Reports on Saturday quoted the head of the election commission as saying that voting for the upper house will take place two months later on January 22.
While election commission officials were not immediately available to comment on the report, an army source said the date will be announced in the coming days.
The election will be the first free vote in decades for Egyptians after 30 years of autocratic rule by Mubarak.
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.
A member of the ruling council said in July the vote will be held in three stages to make it easier for monitors to oversee voting.
Political parties are due to meet members of the ruling military council on Sunday to discuss preparations for the elections.