Egypt sets president poll date
Egypt has set May 23-24 for the first presidential election since Hosni Mubarak’s removal last year.
The nation’s new president is to be named on June 21.
Egypt’s ruling military has pledged to turn over power to a civilian government after a new president is chosen, but it has not set a date for the transfer.
The military has come under stiff criticism from reformers for its handling of the transition period, scarred by frequent violent protests and continued economic decline.
The head of Election Commission, Farouk Sultan, told a news conference that a 21-day presidential election campaign period would begin on April 30, more than a month after candidates can submit their applications for the race.
Sultan said if necessary, a runoff election would take place on June 16-17. If no candidate wins 50% of the vote in the first round in May, the top two finishers would face each other in a runoff.
Mubarak was forced to step down a year ago after an 18-day popular uprising that brought hundreds of thousands into the streets. Egypt’s military took over from him, at first pledging to return to the barracks after a civilian government was chosen within six months.
The transitional period has stretched to a year and a half, partially because reformers wanted more time to prepare for elections, but also sparking uncertainty and concerns that Egypt might be moving from Mubarak’s authoritarian rule to a military dictatorship.
So far there have been elections for the two houses of parliament, both dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood’s party.
