Informed sources expect President Adly Mansour to issue a bill setting date for presidential elections after declaring results of the referendum on draft constitution slated for 14 and 15 January.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Friday that the presidency had decided to amend the roadmap and hold presidential ahead of parliamentary elections after holding talks with political groups and security officials.
The change will undoubtedly anger some groups, like the 6 April Youth Movement, who believe that holding presidential elections before parliamentary could give the president too much power. “The roadmap said that parliamentary elections should be first,” said Mohammed Moustafa, a party spokesperson. “If we start with the presidential elections, it will be in direct violation of the roadmap, which will cause chaos in the political scene.”
The Nour Party also voiced similar fears. “If we start with the presidential elections, we will grant the new president both legislative and executive authorities,” Salah Abdel Maqsoud, one of the party's leaders, told Egypt Independent. “We are going to repeat the same scenario that took place during the rule of former president Mohammed Morsy.”
Despite this, the interim government has decided that the benefits of holding the elections for president before the parliament outweigh the risks. “The president’s decision will identify the electoral system of the parliamentary elections, after people approve the draft constitution, in accordance with social dialogue and after mulling several security measures and legal determinants,” the anonymous sources added.
“If constitution is approved, president will stick, while setting the presidential elections date, to article 230 within chapter on transitional provisions, which stipulates that president or parliament is elected according to law and that first elections should take place within 90 days from date of enforcing the constitution, and that the following elections should take place at no more than six months from date of enforcing the constitution,” the sources added.
According to the article, presidential elections will take place before end of April, while parliamentary elections will take place by July maximum, the source said expecting applications for nomination to presidency to be received starting March.
In related news, Nasr Eddin Badrawy, spokesperson of the High Elections Commission, said the commission decided establishing around 30,000 subcommittees for the referendum and that every judge will supervise two or three of them.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
