CAIRO - The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) will launch its election platform for the upcoming parliamentary elections during its annual congress in November, said Safwat el-Sherif, the Secretary-General of the ruling party. "After the deadline for applying to run in the parliamentary elections ends, the party will announce its platform at its annual congress on November 9 and 10," el-Sherif told reporters following a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak. He added that the party's election platform would be announced before the official start of campaigning. "The candidates will surely have enough time to campaign for the elections," el-Sherif said. "The NDP's annual congress will focus only on the preparations for the parliamentary elections," el-Sherif was quoted by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying. The Higher Commission for Elections had previously declared that the elections for the legislature would be held on November 29. However, the Presidential Decree to invite voters to the ballot boxes has not been issued yet. This year's elections will be a real challenge for a number of reasons, including the allocation of 64 parliamentary seats for women, the elections being held on a single day across the nation, and the growing calls for constitutional amendments in advance of the presidential elections in 2011, say observers.