Reuters, Cairo :
Egypt will hold a long-awaited parliamentary election in two phases starting on March 22-23, the Election Commission said on Thursday, something the government hopes will deliver political and economic stability after nearly four years of upheaval.
The most populous Arab country has been without a parliament since June 2012, when a court dissolved the democratically elected main chamber, reversing a major accomplishment of the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The parliamentary election is the final step in a political roadmap the army announced in July 2013 after ousting Islamist Mohamed Mursi – Egypt’s first democratically elected President – following mass protests against his troubled rule.
The second phase of the poll will be held on April 26-27.
Egyptian leaders say the parliamentary election shows their commitment to democracy.
Critics say President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief toppled Mursi, has undermined freedoms gained after the uprising that ended 30 years of autocratic rule under Mubarak.
Egypt will hold a long-awaited parliamentary election in two phases starting on March 22-23, the Election Commission said on Thursday, something the government hopes will deliver political and economic stability after nearly four years of upheaval.
The most populous Arab country has been without a parliament since June 2012, when a court dissolved the democratically elected main chamber, reversing a major accomplishment of the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The parliamentary election is the final step in a political roadmap the army announced in July 2013 after ousting Islamist Mohamed Mursi – Egypt’s first democratically elected President – following mass protests against his troubled rule.
The second phase of the poll will be held on April 26-27.
Egyptian leaders say the parliamentary election shows their commitment to democracy.
Critics say President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief toppled Mursi, has undermined freedoms gained after the uprising that ended 30 years of autocratic rule under Mubarak.
