Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab ordered on Tuesday the formation of a committee that will be responsible for amending the final draft of a law regulating the upcoming parliamentary elections. The committee will consist of the prime minister's advisor for security and electoral affairs, an aide to the justice minister for legislation matters, an aide to the interior minister for legal matters, a representative of the local development ministry, and two academics specialising in legal and constitutional matters. On Monday, Mahlab said the law, which will redraw electoral constituencies, will be issued within the next two to three weeks. In a phone interview with private satellite channel MBC Masr, he said the law is currently being revised. The law aims to redraw Egypt's electoral constituencies to comply with the requirements of the 2014 constitution. Article 102 of the new constitution stipulates that legislators must ensure that electoral constituencies be redrawn to balance both their areas and their population sizes. Parliamentary polls are the final step in a "roadmap" established following the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The upcoming polls have already drawn criticism from a number of liberal and leftist political parties. A new law issued in June cut the number of seats allotted to parties down to just 20 percent, reserving 75 percent for independent candidates, a move which several the parties say will damage pluralism and democracy. Source : Ahram online
