Egypt's Shura Council Members re-elected on Thursday Safwat el-Sherif as speaker of the Egyptian Upper House of parliament for the coming three years, according to Egypt's state-run MENA news agency
El-Sherif ran for the elections despite the fact that no member has been nominated for the presidency of the council. He got all the 260 votes in favor.
Under the statute of the Shura Council, elections are held even for one candidate.
Egypt held a voting of mid-term elections of the Shura Council on two rounds earlier this month in the first and the second round, the National Democratic Party (NDP) acquired 84 out of 88 seats, including 14 uncontested seats.
Four seats went to four opposition parties respectively.
On his part, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak issued Wednesday a presidential decree to appoint 44 members of the Shura Council among them eight Copts and 11 women.
Egypt will hold the elections of the Egyptian People's Assembly (the Lower House) in October this year and presidential polls next year.
Only 176 members of the 264-member Shura Council are directly elected for six-year terms, while the rest are appointed by the president. Elections and appointments are on a rotating basis. The mid-term election is held every three years.
