CAIRO: The Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC) said Thursday that it created a network to provide legal aid to candidates and voters in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The HMLC lawyers, spread across the country, would help raise awareness of the electoral process. "We will give the legal help regardless of the affiliations of the candidates or the voters, and we will cooperate with everybody to ensure the highest levels of democracy in the upcoming elections," HMLC said in a statement The parliamentary elections are to be held in November. According to a tentative schedule, candidates would start applying later this month. HMLC Executive Director, lawyer Ahmed Ragheb, told Daily News Egypt that the center will give legal advice to all candidates and voters throughout the electoral process. The team will depend on the constitutional decree and the international human rights treaties. "The legal assistance network has already started operating on Thursday, where our lawyers across the country are getting ready to receive questions regarding the first step, which is applying for candidacy," he said. HMLC launched an awareness campaign called "What do you know about elections?" through its branches in Cairo and Aswan and the nationwide network of lawyers. The statement also said that legal assistance could be through the center's website, email and the lawyers' phones.
