Egyptian Elections, to where? 32
Dina Sadek
Towards what is expected-to-be Egypt’s first
fair parliamentary election since the overthrow of the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, exceptions fluctuate. The revolution that sparked in Egypt by the beginning of this year awaits its fate to indicate which way the willpower of the people will lead to. The elections will take up to six weeks, allocated in three rounds dividing Egypt’s governances and districts. The first round will take place on November 28, followed by the second on December 14 and the third on January 3. Each round would have a runoff ballot a week after the initial ballots. This ballot people will select 444 member of the People’s Assembly (Magles El-Shaab), which is the lower house. The elections of the upper house, Consultative Council (Maglis Al-Shura), would follow with the same guidelines, starting late January to last until mid march. The members of both houses would have the task of rewriting the constitution. A demand made by the Egyptian protesters since the revolution. A panel about the Parliamentary elections in Egypt was held in the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC.
The panelists discussed the elections and its affects of Egypt’s future. Michele Dunne, the Director of Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council debated the challenges of the elections. “They choose explicitly complicated electoral system,” Dunne said describing electoral system chosen by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Operating and overseeing the elections is going to be done by the judiciary branch. The Judiciary is an independent body, with vested powers to oversee the practices of both executive and legislative branches. But giving how complicated the elections’ process is; according to Dunne “Even well intended officials could make mistakes.” Fears are rising around the powers vested in the SCAF as an executive power keeps raising the question of the powers the members of a constituent assembly wouldhave? And to what extent would the military interfere in the country’s legislative and executive affairs? The SCAF and the interim government both agree on a proposal that allows generals to appoint 80% of the constitutional committee. This would mean that the SCAF would have the pow-