Off the wire
• Worries about unemployment, corruption fall in Spain while remaining main problems  • European Court of Human Rights to rule on French life support case  • Spanish Interior Ministry to compile passenger database to combat jihadist terrorism  • Malta parliamentary speaker expresses condolences to French counterpart  • UN envoy holds first meeting with key Libyan military leaders  • Greeks stand in solidarity with French people after deadly terrorist attack  • Juncker, Straujuma meet on Latvian presidency of Council of EU  • Spanish stock market rises 2.26 pct, closes at 10,115 points  • U.S., Iran to hold bilateral nuclear meetings in Geneva  • Incumbent Sri Lankan president takes lead in 2015 election  
You are here: 　 Home

2nd LD Writethru: Egypt's parliamentary elections date fixed

Xinhua, January 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Egypt said it plans to hold the much-awaited parliamentary elections from March 21 to May 7, said the country's election authorities on Thursday.

Choosing a new parliament was a key and final step of the political roadmap announced by the army after it overthrew the country's first freely-elected President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Ayman Abbas, head of Egyptian Supreme Election Committee, told reporters in Cairo that the election will be held in two rounds, starting with 14 of Egypt's 27 provinces.

In the first round, Abbas said, voters will go to the polls on March 22-23 with runoffs scheduled for April 1-2.

The second round will be held in the remaining 13 governorates including capital Cairo on April 26-27. Runoffs will be on May 6-7.

Egyptian expatriates will cast their ballots one day ahead of domestic voters in both rounds, Abbas added.

However, the committee has not announced the opening date for candidates to submit their applications.

According to a law ratified by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi late last month, the parliament will have a total of 567 seats, 420 for independent candidates, 120 for party-based ones and 27 for presidential appointees.

Independent candidates are distributed over 237 electoral districts, and party-based ones are distributed over four large districts, each of which includes a number of provinces.

Sisi, then defense minister and military chief, ousted the Islamist president and announced a three-step roadmap which also includes writing a new constitution and holding a presidential election.

Egypt hopes that a successful parliamentary election would help improve the country's fragile economy after years of internal disorder.

The Egyptian parliament has been idle since it was dissolved in 2012 by the High Constitutional Court. Endit