Egypt to hold two-phase parliamentary election

Egypt will hold a long-awaited parliamentary election, starting on October 18th and 19th, the election commission said on Sunday, in the final step in a process to bring back democracy that critics say has been tainted by repression.

Egypt has been without a parliament since June 2012 when a court dissolved the democratically elected main chamber, dominated by the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, reversing a major accomplishment of the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The election had been due to begin in March but was delayed after a court ruled part of the election law unconstitutional.

A second round of voting in the two-phase election will take place on November 22nd and 23rd, the election commission told a news conference. Egyptians abroad can vote on October 17th and 18th.

The then military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who went on to become president, toppled Egypt's first freely elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

The government says the election is proof of Egypt’s commitment to democracy. – (Reuters)