Holding parliamentary elections before the holy month of Ramadan, to begin in late June, is “impossible,” President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi told reporters Monday.
“It will be pretty hard to hold the elections before Ramadan, which will also be happening at the same time as students’ entrance exams,” Sisi told media following state celebrations on the anniversary of Labor Day.
However, the president vowed that carrying out the elections is a must. “We need to have the elections in order to have a parliament capable of legislating and monitoring the government’s performance. Although we had the opportunity to run it in March, the legal appeals over the law was the reason of delaying it,” he added.
Last week, the Cabinet sent a new draft of three laws related to the long-awaited parliamentary elections to the state council court to check their constitutionality; the prior laws were rejected by the Supreme Constitutional Court on the grounds of disproportionate districting. Before the ruling, elections had been scheduled to take place between March and May.
Sisi now acts as a legislator in the light of the parliament’s absence.
Egypt’s constitution gives the elected parliament the right to withdraw the confidence from the president, as the former may not assign a Cabinet without the majority of the parliament endorsement.
On the ground, the majority of political parties are still finalizing their electoral alliances.
