Egypt to witness vital electoral entitlements in 2020: MP

CAIRO – 22 September 2019: Bahaa Abu Shoka, head of the parliaments constitutional and legislative affairs committee, stressed that Egypt will witness several challenges in 2020, which are related to the electoral entitlements.

The entitlements will be represented in holding elections for the Senate, the Parliament and Local Councils, Abu Shoka said, adding that the state would, subsequently, have security and financial considerations, to determine the date of the three elections.

Abu Shoka affirmed that the various political parties want the local elections to be held as soon as possible.

Political parties are preparing for the local elections, as the Law of Local Administration will be issued during the last round of the Parliament for 2019.

The latest local councils, formed after 2008 polls, were dissolved in 2011 following the popular uprising that ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak. Government-appointed officials have run local affairs without council oversight since then.

In an earlier interview with Egypt Today, Bahaa Abu Shoka, also head of the New al-Wafd Party, said the local election was a great opportunity for political parties to re-exist, adding that it would greatly help protect the Egyptian state.

The local councils represent mini-parliaments in the governorates of Egypt, Abu Shoka said, highlighting their role in monitoring and following up on the government performance nationwide. They will also assist the Parliament and the Senate (formerly Shura Council) in the governorates.

The local election represents an important step in activating the role of youth in all parts of the republic, and gives them the opportunity to protect the Egyptian state, he said. Such councils also help prepare young people with great experience to be future candidates for the Parliament, he added.

The Law of Local Administration will come out during the next and last round of the Parliament, and will be a strong and effective law, Abu Shoka said, clarifying that it would give full powers to all members of the local councils to be a serious step in the reform of Egyptian governorates.

Abu Shoka revealed that his party was preparing powerful cadres for the local elections through specialized training courses.