Draft parliamentary elections law to be approved by Shura Council and High Constitutional Court by mid-March before President Mohamed Morsi sets official date, FJP official tells Ahram Online Spokesperson of the Freedom and Justice Party Ahmed Sobie told Ahram Online Wednesday that there is a high possibility that parliamentary elections will be held in April, corroborating an earlier statement by an unnamed official to Reuters. Sobie asserted that date is "an approximate one" explaining that the parliamentary elections law, which is currently being drafted by the Cabinet, must first be examined by the Shura Council (Egypt's upper house of parliament) and then passed to the High Constitutional Court (HCC). "The law will be sent to the HCC by February for revision which will take at least 45 days, after this it will be passed back to Shura Council around mid-March," Sobei said, adding that if the HCC approves the law, the upper house of parliament will then issue it and refer it to President Mohamed Morsi, who will set the exact date for the polls. The elections for the People's Assembly (lower house of parliament) were initially expected to be held 60 days after the ratification of the Constitution, a timeline set out in Morsi's July presidential decree. The final draft of the national charter was approved on 25 December, 2012 following a referendum.
