Egypt's interim president has signed into law a bill aimed at regulating the upcoming presidential election, paving the way for army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to take part and win.
Adly Mansour, the interim president, issued the decree on Saturday with the elections commission expected to schedule the election for April.
The Egyptian cabinet officially approved the final draft of a new presidential elections law on Thursday, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
The State Council, a judicial advisory body, had been given the 59-article law last week and asked to review a variety of proposed amendments after President Adly Mansour put the document up for public debate and began fielding suggestions.
Mansour, who holds legislative powers in the absence of a sitting parliament, is expected to promulgate the law early next week.
The head of the Egyptian army has given his clearest sign yet that he will run for Egypt's presidency, a race he is widely expected to win.
Field Marshal Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's candidacy has long been seen as a forgone conclusion, following a series of statements and leaks by officials that strongly suggest he wants to succeed Mohamed Morsi, the man he ousted from office last July, as Egypt's head of state.
The Egyptian Engineers Assembly will boycott the syndicate elections scheduled in April, the organisation announced Monday.
In a statement, the assembly vowed “to legally defend all the gains of the syndicate,” and abstain from supporting any candidates during the upcoming elections.
El nuevo gobierno interino de Egipto juró el sábado, un gabinete ligeramente modificado con rostros familiares que mantiene poderosos ministros a cargo de la seguridad y las fuerzas armadas antes de las próximas elecciones presidenciales.
El nuevo gabinete, el sexto desde la revuelta en 2011 contra el autócrata Hosni Mubarak, mantiene al general Abdel-Fatá el-Sissi como ministro de Defensa. Muchos creen que el popular el-Sissi, quien lideró el derrocamiento del presidente Mohamed Morsi, se postulará a la presidencia.
A new law governing Egypt's upcoming presidential elections has been revised and was sent on Monday to interim President Adly Mansour for a final review.
The State Council, a judicial advisory body, had been given the 59-article law and asked to review a variety of proposed amendments after Mansour put the document up for public debate and began fielding suggestions.
Mansour had previously announced that the law would be issued by 18 Februrary.
An industrialist who rose to prominence during the Mubarak era was named as Egypt’s new prime minister on Tuesday, a day after his predecessor abruptly announced the resignation of the military-backed government that had managed the country since July.
A flicker of hope for women across Egypt may have been sparked on Friday, after the first female to head a political party in the country was elected.
Breaking through Egypt's political glass ceiling, Hala Shukrallah succeeded former Egyptian Vice President Mohammad ElBaradei to become the Constitution Party’s president.
And her win not only represents women, who are a minority in Egyptian politics; she is also a Coptic Christian, a community that makes up 10 around percent of the country’s population.
Before the much anticipated presidential elections in Egypt, the leader of the Strong Egypt Party, former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, declared that he would not participate in the coming elections, because of “the climate surrounding it.”
In an interview with As-Safir, Aboul Fotouh explains the reasons behind his decision, and talks about the nature of the current stage in Egypt. He warned that “the country is likely to witness a popular explosion,” if the “course is not corrected.”
The full interview follows:
The judicial body tasked with supervising Egypt's upcoming presidential elections has announced that it will not meet as planned on 18 February, the day slated by interim authorities as the beginning of the polling process which will elect the country's second president in three years.
Hamdan Fahmy, secretary-general of the five-member Presidential Election Commission (PEC), said on Monday that the meeting will be delayed until a new law regulating the upcoming elections is issued by interim President Adly Mansour.
The Supreme Electoral Committee (SEC) announced Saturday that the newly drafted national charter was approved by 98.1 percent of voters. SEC head Nabil Salib says 38.6 percent (20,613,677) of registered voters cast ballots in last week's referendum on the draft constitution, surpassing the 32% turnout of 2012 constitutional referendum. The number of 'yes' voters according to Salib was 19,985,389. More than 53,485,423 Egyptians were registered to vote in the constitution referendum that took place on 14 and 15 January, according to SEC.
U.S.-based Democracy International (DI) announced today its preliminary findings on Egypt’s recent constitutional referendum held on January 14 and 15. DI deployed more than 80 international observers to 23 of Egypt’s 27 governorates, which made it the largest international observation mission to this referendum. DI’s mission observed all aspects of the referendum process, including the political context in which the referendum took place, the conduct of polling, and the count.
As the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights reports delays in opening times among its major observations, says MENA, the ANHRI witnesses diverse attempts prompting Egyptians towards both 'yes' and 'no' votes.
A number of observers issued Wednesday the violations and complaints they received Tuesday during Egypt's first referendum day on the draft constitution.
Egyptians are voting for a second day in a referendum on a new constitution drawn up following the ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
The army-backed government is seeking a "Yes" vote to endorse his removal.
Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote.
Wednesday's voting has so far passed off peacefully, in contrast to Tuesday when nine people died in clashes involving Mr Morsi's supporters.
Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafik, has said he will run for president if the Egyptian army chief does not contest elections.
"I believe now I will run for the presidency," Shafik told a Cairo television station on Thursday, adding that he would compete if army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stayed out of a race that is expected later this year.
The committee responsible for amending the Egyptian constitution finished voting on a new draft of the charter on Sunday evening, approving four articles that had not been passed in earlier sessions.
The articles were discussed at a closed meeting on Sunday evening, before a final session at which they were passed. All of the articles relate to the upcoming elections.
Demonstrations called for by the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy and held on Friday across Egypt resulted in seven deaths and dozens injured.
The alliance called for mass protests last Wednesday on what it had dubbed the Friday of “The People Regaining their Revolution.” Turnout for the rallies was lower than what has been witnessed over the last few weeks.
