Egypt sets date for parly vote

2005-10-11 21:32

Cairo - Egypt's three-phase parliamentary elections will kick off on November 9 and end on December 7, according to a presidential decree published in Tuesday's local press.

Residents in the governorates of Cairo, Guiza (south of the capital), Menufiya (in the Delta), al-Wadi al-Gadid (in the Western Sahara) and in the Upper Egypt governorates of Beni Sueif and Assiut will be the first to cast their ballots.

The second stage on November 20 will take pace in Alexandria in northern Egypt, in the Delta towns of Beheiria, Qaliubiya and west of the country in Gharbiya, Ismailiya, Port Said and Suez. Residents of Fayum and Qena, in Upper Egypt, will also vote on that day.

Finally, on December 1, Egyptians will vote in Daqahliya, Sharqiya, Kafr el-Sheikh and Damiette in the Delta, in Sohag and Aswan in Upper Egypt and in the governorates of the Red Sea, North Sinai and South Sinai.

Second rounds are scheduled, should the need arise, six days after the first one in each of the districts.

The decree also says the new parliament will hold its first session on December 13.

- SAPA