[ 2012-02-19 ]

Egypt presidential election 'set for June'
CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt's first presidential elections
since a popular uprising ousted veteran leader
Hosni Mubarak a year ago will be held in the first
week of June, officials were quoted as saying on
Sunday.

Egyptian authorities are due to officially
announce the timetable for the presidential
election later on Sunday.

"The election will start in the first days of June
and will end in the last week of June if there is
a run-off," Ahmed Shams El-Din, a member of the
presidential election committee told the
independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Presidential hopefuls will have three weeks
starting March 10 to register their candidacy,
after which there will be campaigning for 45
days.

Last month, a panel charged with advising the
military council had proposed to hold the landmark
elections on May 16, a month earlier than the June
deadline set by the Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces.

Attempts at bringing forward the date come amid a
series of nationwide rallies demanding the ouster
of the SCAF. Activists accuse the junta of
mismanagement of the transition, of human rights
violations and of stifling freedoms.

There is a widespread belief that the SCAF will
attempt to retain some sort of power after the
transition.

The military has been the backbone of Egyptian
politics since the fall of the monarchy in 1952,
and every president since has emerged from the top
ranks of the armed forces.

Source - AFP

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