Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi today said he expected parliamentary elections to be held in October after delays caused by a court decision. The delay could lead to heightened tensions over the summer between Mr Morsi’s supporters and a broad opposition movement that wants him out of power. There have been regular protests against his government since November, many of them violent. Mr Morsi had tried to fast-track new parliamentary elections last month, ordering them to begin at the end of April and continue over two months. But an administrative court ruled that the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that is the only legislative body at the moment because the lower house was dissolved last year, did not properly consult the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) on revisions made to an elections law.
The Shura Council approved a new electoral law on Tuesday, which now must be reviewed by the SCC before it can be ratified.
Mr Morsi predicted the delayed election date during a meeting with the Egyptian community in Doha, where he was attending an Arab summit. He said he “expected parliamentary elections would be held in October and that parliament would be in session before the year’s end”, according to the state news agency MENA.
Full Article: Egypt’s Morsi expects parliamentary elections to be held in October – The National.
