Parliamentary elections to smooth Egypt's transition from military to civilian rule will take place in stages to make it easier for monitors to oversee voting, an military general said on Wednesday. Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) crushed opponents in routinely rigged votes before he was ousted from the presidency in February. A blatantly manipulated election in November last year helped fuel the uprising that toppled him. The new legislative elections will take place over one month, with voting taking place on different days in three separate regions, General Mahmoud Shaheen told reporters. Dates for the voting would be announced after 18 September by military decree, he said. Shaheen said staggering the vote would ensure that judges could thoroughly monitor polling. Voters will cast ballots for both lower and upper houses at the same time and the elections will be held in 120 voting districts. "The army's role during the elections will be to provide security only. Only the judiciary will monitor," Shaheen said.
