The Higher Election Committee (HEC) issued a statement this week saying preparations for parliamentary elections are in full swing. Dates for the poll have not, however, been set. HEC spokesman Medhat Idris said Sunday that the committee is working “day and night” to ensure the elections are held on time. The committee is led by Ayman Abbas, chairman of Cairo Appeal Court. “The HEC cannot set a timetable for registration and voting before a new electoral districts law is issued, executive regulations for the HEC are drafted and the judges responsible for supervising the polls are selected,” said Idris. “We are working with the government and judicial authorities to push forward these issues. A technical committee has been formed by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to finalise the electoral districts law before it is presented to the president for endorsement.” Also on Sunday, Minister of State for Transitional Justice and House of Representatives Affairs Ibrahim Al-Heneidy announced he was coordinating with the HEC, the Justice Ministry, the Administrative Development Ministry and the Supreme Council for Judges to update voter lists and prepare the lists of judges who will supervise the poll. The flurry of activity follows President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi's announcement at a meeting to mark Farmers' Day, 18 September, that parliamentary polls must be held before the end of the year. “This is a constitutional obligation. Elections must be held on schedule, before the end of the year,” said Al-Sisi. Al-Sisi was responding to calls from farmers' representatives to delay the poll till the end of 2015, or later if security conditions do not significantly improve. “Why should we fear that polls this year pose an especial security threat?” asked Al-Sisi. “To those warning of danger this year I say the same danger can be expected next year. What is important is to implement the articles of the new constitution. If we flip-flop on this we will not be able to move the country forward.” Al-Sisi refuted rumours that the election could cost up to LE6 billion but added if they are delayed they could well end up costing more. He urged all voters to participate in the poll, the third and final phase of the political roadmap set out following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The two earlier phases were the passing of the new constitution by public referendum in January and the election of the new president in May. “The constitution provides parliament with greater powers in terms of legislation and supervision, obliging people to take the utmost care in electing their deputies,” said Al-Sisi. “I urge all Egyptians, especially those in rural constituencies, not to select their deputies solely on tribal or clan grounds. If you opt to elect a dishonest deputy you will be the first to suffer from the flawed choice,” he warned. Al-Sisi's speech on Farmers' Day sent a clear signal that “the president will not repeat the mistakes of Mubarak and Morsi and place himself above the constitution,” argues Anwar Al-Sadat, chairman of the Reform and Development Party. Sadat warned that Sunday's bomb explosion near the Foreign Ministry in Cairo should not be exploited by those pushing for a delay in the polls. “If we continue to cite security reasons as an excuse for postponing the vote the polls will never be held,” he said. Commentators say it is no coincidence that Al-Sisi's announcement that polls will be held on time came before he left for the US on Sunday. Al-Sisi is leading the Egyptian delegation to the UN General Assembly. “Al-Sisi's insistence that polls will be held on schedule came in tandem with the release of several high-profile secular political activists and strong signals that moderate Muslim Brotherhood members will soon be able to join the political process,” notes Al-Ahram political analyst Hassan Abu Taleb. Sources close to the HEC tell Al-Ahram Weekly that the registration dates for candidates in the upcoming parliamentary poll will be announced very soon. “If everything goes well, and if the new electoral law is finally ratified by the president, we will be ready to announce the dates of registration, campaigning and the vote around Eid Al-Adha [4 October],” a member of HEC's secretariat-general told the Weekly on Saturday. “I expect the door for registration to open in the second half of October and last for either a week or ten days. A final list of candidates could be issued by the first week of November.” The same source expects campaigning to begin in the second week of November and last until early December, and the vote to be held in the first half of December. The poll is expected to be held in three stages, with nine governorates taking part in each. Some estimate it will take as long as a month for the votes to be tallied and the results to be announced, following which Egypt will have its first parliament in two years. The election law specifies that 75 per cent (420) of deputies be elected via the individual candidacy system and 20 per cent (120) by party list. The remaining five per cent (27) of seats will be filled by presidential appointees. Political parties have complained that the law discriminates against party-based candidates.
