Egyptian voters choose first lawmakers since 2012

Special to WorldTribune.com

It’s crunch time for Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi as the lengthy process of choosing a new government is underway.

Much of what Sisi hopes to accomplish is riding on elections for the new House of Representatives. Half of the country will vote on Oct. 18 and 19 and the other half on Nov. 22 and 23. Official results are expected to be released on Dec. 2.

Election banners in the Imbaba district of Cairo. /AFP/Getty Images
Election banners in the Imbaba district of Cairo. /AFP/Getty Images

Egypt has had no parliament since a court dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated chamber in June 2012.

Sisi is under pressure to ensure the elections are fair and safe from threats by terrorists and Islamists. The president is sure to face criticism from the West, with many experts opining that the new House of Representatives will merely be a rubber-stamp for his policies.

Egypt’s constitution now prohibits political parties based on religion. In 2011 elections, Mohammed Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party of the Muslim Brotherhood garnered 47 percent of the vote. The Brotherhood is now outlawed in Egypt, but reports have said some of its adherents could slip into the 2015 elections as “independent candidates.”

The Al Nour party of the Salafist movement is said to be a religious-based party, but has been allowed to compete in the current elections, probably due to its strong support for Sisi, observers say. Some members of Al Nour remain sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.

There are 596 seats in the new House of Representatives and new election law stipulates 448 of them must go to independent candidates. Political parties will get 120 seats and the remaining 28 seats will be appointed by the government, most likely going to underrepresented constituencies such as Copts, women and other minorities.

The new constitution gives the House of Representatives greater powers than parliament ever had.

Experts say Sisi will be the clear winner when all the votes are tallied and will have broad approval to continue his reform policies and to fight the ongoing terrorist threat in Sinai.

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