Egypt: Senate elections to be held in August under strict guidelines

Chief of election commission of Egypt said at a press briefing that the nation would hold its senate elections in August in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Held over two days, voting will be conducted more than a year after the restoration of Parliament’s lower chamber, which was dissolved in 2014. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi would extend his tenure until 2030 as a part of constitutional amendments when the senate was reconstituted 5 years ago. 

In a televised address, the chairman of the National Election Authority, said July 4, that the Senate elections will be held on August 11 and the 12. Further, the runoff elections that would require the expatriates to vote will take place in September, between 8 and 9. Last year, a 300-member secondary chamber with two-thirds elected by the public and the remainder appointed by the president was constituted. However, despite the pandemic, with adherence to the health safety measures, the voting will be conducted this year.

While speaking to a live-streamed press conference, Lasheen Ibrahim said, "Holding elections during the pandemic that has swept the world necessitates that we take several precautionary measures to protect ourselves and society.” He added, “strict preventive measures” will be enacted during the voting because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, no political campaigns would be allowed ahead of polls to avoid gathering of a crowd. Ibrahim said that the outlets will be disinfected ahead of the arrival of voters for casting their ballots. 

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72,711 cases and 3,201 deaths

As per media reports, Egypt has rolled out instructions for the officials to enforce the health guidelines, with all voters and polling staff required to wear masks and follow social distancing. Ibrahim said at the conference that the polling results would be announced on August 19 in the official state gazette. As of July 5, Egypt recorded over 1,485 new cases of coronavirus bringing the total number of infections to 72,711, as many as 3,201 deaths have been registered. 

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(With Inputs and Image from AP)