Egypt's Wafd Party said Tuesday Egypt's High Elections Committee (HEC) has lost its credibility after failing to deal with violations by some parliamentary candidates against electoral campaign regulations, according to a statement by deputy chairman Hussein Mansour released on Tuesday. "The HEC formed committees of experts headed by court judges to monitor the practices of candidates nationwide, however we saw some candidates hanging up banners and exploiting public events to campaign," he said. According to the 2015 parliamentary elections regulations, electoral campaigning is banned until after the HEC announces the final roster of candidates' names on Tuesday. However, in Cairo and other governorates many candidates campaigned over the Eid Al-Adha holidays, which started last week and ended on Sunday. "The HEC lost its credibility and I'm not sure if it needs these elections to be fair," Mansour said. "Some candidates were distributing meat and money for voters and the HEC was just staring and didn't react," he added. This year's election represents the third and final part of the political roadmap put forward after the ouster of Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The first step was a new constitution, passed by a public referendum on 18 January 2014, and the second was the election of a new president, former army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, on 8 June 2014. The Egyptian government is hoping these polls will demonstrate to the international community that it is moving towards building democratic institutions, as well as sending a message that Egypt has become politically stable and open for investment. Elections for the first stage will occur for Egyptians abroad on 17-18 October, while voters in Egypt will go to the polls on 18-19 October and it will include 14 governorates: Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Red Sea, Beheira, Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh. While the second stage will include the remaining 13 governorates: Cairo, Qalioubiya, Daqahliya, Menoufiya, Gharbiya, Kafr El-Sheikh, Sharqiya, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, North Sinai, and South Sinai and will occur for Egyptians abroad on 21-22 November, while voters in Egypt will go to the polls on 22-23 November. Source: Ahram Online
