Schneider Electric Expands Youth Partnership with Enactus to Drive Inclusive Energy Transition in Egypt    China's Jiangsu Zhengyong to build $85m factory in Egypt's Ain Sokhna: SCZONE    Egyptian pound ticks up vs. US dollar at Thursday's close    Egypt condemns Israeli plan to build 3,400 settler homes in West Bank    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Egypt, China ink $1bn agreement for Sailun tire plant in SCZONE    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt's Electricity Minister discusses progress on Greece power link    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, bilateral ties in calls with Saudi, South African counterparts    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    27 Western countries issue joint call for unimpeded aid access to Gaza    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Australia to recognise Palestinian state in September, New Zealand to decide    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Global matcha market to surpass $7bn by 2030: Nutrition expert    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt, Uganda strengthen water cooperation, address Nile governance    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Korean Cultural Centre in Cairo launches folk painting workshop    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



No Egypt election before Ramadan, says minister
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 23 - 04 - 2015

Egypt's long-awaited parliamentary election will not be held until after Ramadan due to technical and security issues, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ibrahim El-Heneidy has said.
"We are back to square one again and I do not expect the poll to be held anytime soon ahead of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan [which is scheduled to begin on 18 June]," Heneidy told reporters on Wednesday.‎
Although changes to the electoral constituencies law, necessary to pave the way for the parliamentary poll, were approved in concept by the cabinet on 14 April, they have yet to be presented in a final draft, he explained.
According to Heneidy, a government-appointed committee charged with drafting the law has yet to settle on the final division of electoral constituencies.
"The committee still has to work on key articles dealing with the division of constituencies and the number of seats that will make up the next parliament," said Heneidy.‎
He disclosed that the drafting committee – which he heads ‎– had received conflicting statistics about the number of voters in 12 constituencies.
"As a result, the committee requested that the Public Mobilisation and Statistics Agency (PMSA) provide it with the most up-to-date figures about the distribution of voters in these 12 constituencies," said Heneidy.
He added: "It is necessary to get official and authorised final statistics in order to guarantee equality among voters in constituencies in line with rulings issued by the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) last month."‎
Heneidy said the committee reached a preliminary decision last week that the number of parliamentary seats would be increased by 25, or from 567 to 592.
"We thought this figure guaranteed equality among constituencies, but in a second review this week we found the difference in voter numbers in 12 constituencies still exceeded 25 per cent, in violation of the SCC's ruling."
"The review discovered that some constituencies still included up to 800,000 voters while others have just 100,000," said Heneidy. "As a result, the number of seats could increase again or be maintained at 592 but with boundary changes."‎
Heneidy said the 12 constituencies with significant differences in voter numbers are in Cairo, Alexandria, Beni Suef, Gharbiya, Menoufiya, Fayoum, Sohag and Qena.‎
Meanwhile, Heneidy indicated that the interior ministry expressed reservations over last week's preliminary division of constituencies.
"Ministry officials said the preliminary division had not observed security concerns in a number of constituencies," said Heneidy.‎
According to Heneidy, the interior ministry complained that some constituencies – especially in Upper Egypt – were merged together in violation of tribal and sectarian considerations.‎
Heneidy said the drafting committee will need at least one more week to make a new division of constituencies necessary to comply with the above technical and security concerns.
"Once we receive official figures from PMSA, we will need one week or even more to change the constituencies law and then refer the final draft to the State Council's Department of Fatwas and Legislation to be finally revised," he said.‎
Egypt's parliamentary poll was originally scheduled to be held on 21-22 March, but was postponed after the SCC ruled two election laws unconstitutional. The poll represents the third part of a political roadmap that has been adopted since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The first two parts included issuing a new constitution and holding presidential elections in 2014.
Source: Ahram online


Clic here to read the story from its source.