Cairo // Egypt last night released dates for its long-awaited parliamentary elections.
The elections will take place in phases between October 17 and December 2, the electoral commission announced.
The polls, the first since president Abdel Fattah El Sisi took office last year, had been due in early 2014 but were repeatedly delayed on legal grounds.
Some overseas voters will cast their ballots on October 17, then voters in 14 of Egypt’s 27 provinces will go to the booths on the following two days. Runoffs for those constituencies will be held on October 26-28.
The rest, inside and outside Egypt, will vote on November 21-23, with runoffs on November 30 and December 1 and 2.
Twenty-seven of the seats in parliament will be appointed directly by Mr El Sisi, with the rest contested through party lists or individual basis. The polls will start more than two years after the military under Mr El Sisi toppled Mohammed Morsi.
* Agence France-Presse