CAIRO: Less than 24 hours after the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) announced a timetable for Parliamentary elections, leaders from the Egyptian bloc – a group of pro-change activists and political leaders – called for an election boycott. The SCAF said on Tuesday that candidacy would open on October 12, with the first stage in the voting to commence on November 28. Fareed Zahra, a member of the General Secretariat of the Egyptian Bloc, said in comments published by al-Youm al-Saba'a newspaper that the parties involved with the bloc are calling for a boycott of the elections if the military uses “the current election law, especially the reservation of a third of the seats for independently-elected candidates.” Zahran asked the ruling military junta to hold elections using only party lists and “immediately repeal the emergency laws.” Zahran also underlined the importance of passing the isolation law, “which would prevent the candidacy of former National Democratic Party members.” The SCAF was under great public pressures for setting a timetable for the elections, the first free one after the 30-year rule of ousted president Hosni Mubarak. Activists organized tens of marches and protests to force the SCAF to keep its promise of handing over power to a civilian-elected government. The SCAF also announced it is opening the door for nominations of both the lower and the upper houses. Candidates will be filling 498 seats in the lower house, while the upper house will have 270. The new law dose not allow independent candidates to join any political party once they are elected. The lower house election first stage is scheduled for November 28, the second is set for December 14 and the third on January 3. The first session of the new Parliament will kick off on March 17, 2012. The upper house elections will start their first stage on January 29 and their third round will end on March 11, and the first session will be held on March 24. The SCAF was criticized for cancelling the women's quota in the lower house, which guaranteed female representation. The new law says half of the seats on both houses dedicated to workers and farmers must have at least one female candidate on each list. ** Manar Ammar contributed to this report. BM
