Egypt Votes To Elect New Parliament

People have been voting in Egypt in the first round of long-delayed elections to choose a new parliament.

They are the first such elections since the previous chamber was dissolved by a court ruling in 2012.

The authorities say the poll is the final step in a transition to democracy.

However, critics say most candidates are supporters of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and the new parliament is likely to strengthen his control.

President Sisi is a former general who led the 2013 military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, following months of unrest.

Mr Morsi’s party, the Muslim Brotherhood, won about half the seats in the last parliament but is now banned and its leaders are in jail – some facing death sentences.

By contrast, many figures from the regime of deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak are on the ballot paper, says the BBC’s Orla Guerin in Cairo.

BBC

Posted by Editor on October 19, 2015. Filed under AFRICA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry