The government on Sunday gave preliminary approval to a set of amendments to the law on parliamentary elections.
The draft law will be discussed again in the cabinet meeting next week and will likely be given final approval, official sources said.
According to the new amendments, parliamentary elections will be conducted using a combination of the list-based and single-winner candidacy systems, and each system will account for half the seats.
The relative size of the constituencies will be taken into account when deciding which system to use, in order to give a fair chance to independent candidates and parties.
The amendments also stipulate redividing constituencies to consider population density. Governorates in desert areas with limited populations will have their own specific rules.
The age requirement for a parliamentary candidate will be lowered to 25, down from 30. Every list of candidates should have at least one woman, whose name should appear in the first half of the list, according to the amendments.
The amendments also call for ensuring a fair representation of the quota for farmers and workers on the candidacy lists, which indicates that the 50 percent quota for farmers and workers will remain.
Finally, the amendments say the number of seats available in each constituency that will use a list-based system for its elections should not be less than four or more than eight.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
