Egypt announces parliamentary elections

Parliamentary elections are set to take place as early as October, Cairo announced on Sunday. The long-overdue elections will take place for the first time in three years. They are viewed by some as a monumental step on the path to democracy for Egypt, while others believe they are a tactic for improving ties with Western allies.

The new parliament is expected to be set "by the end of the year," according to Ayman Abbas, the head of the electoral commission.

Under the complex electoral system, the voting process will take place in two stages. Half of the country's governorates will vote on October 18-19 with the second half voting on November 22-23. Those living outside of Egypt will cast their ballots on October 17-18 and the rest will vote on November 21-22. The entire process is expected to end with a final round of runoff votes on December 2.

Polls were originally scheduled to take place in March of this year, but were postponed due to a court ruling which declared part of the election law unconstitutional. The same court dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament in 2012.

On the road to democracy

Egypt has been without a legislature for three years. Executive legislative power currently lies with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. During his first year in office, he passed dozens of laws by decree.

The elections come more than two years after el-Sisi overthrew the first freely elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. His party, the currently-banned Muslim Brotherhood, overwhelmingly won the last general election in 2011.

Critics warn that with the Muslim Brotherhood out of the way, the new elections will be easily dominated by el-Sisi supporters. A pro-Sisi coalition called "For the Love of Egypt," which is expected to appear on the ballot, contains several Mubarak-era politicians.

Rights groups have also criticized the sharp decline in human rights since Morsi was removed from power by the army. In the army's crack-down on Islamists in Egypt, security forces killed hundreds at street protests and rounded up secular activists as well.

The Egyptian government, however, claims it is in a process of restoring democracy.

rs/jr (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)