Egypt's presidential hopeful Amr Moussa on Wednesday urged holding the country's presidential elections before the parliamentary vote scheduled for September.
During a popular meeting at Press Club De France in Paris, Moussa said holding presidential elections first would give political parties a chance to create popular bases.
In March, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces(SCAF) issued an interim constitution containing amendments approved by a majority of nearly 77 percent of voters in a popular referendum. According to the interim constitution, parliamentary elections will occur before presidency polls, planned for the end of 2011.
Moussa, the former Secretary General of the Arab League, predicted that none of the current political groups will be able to win a parliamentary majority, which, he said, will result in a need to form political coalitions.
"Democracy is not something unfamiliar to Egypt, which preceded many European states by forming its first parliament in 1862," he added.
Moussa departed on Wednesday to France for a three-day visit, which comes as the first of his foreign tours in his presidential campaign.
He is expected to meet with the Egyptian community on Thursday at Marseille, and on Friday at the Arab World Institute (AWI) and the Paris suburb of Le Porge.
