Arab Parliament to oversee senate elections in Egypt

CAIRO – 9 August 2020: A delegation of the Arab Parliament will be overseeing senate elections in Egypt as requested by the national polling committee, according to a statement issued by the Arab Parliament on Sunday.

The statement added that it will be supervising the vote despite restrictions on movement among Arab states due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The AP is keen on following up on democratic polls in all Arab countries, it stressed.

The statement unveiled an AP plan to follow up the elections, with a delegation covering the majority of polling stations in several Egyptian governorates.

The AP delegation will also watch vote counting and results of the elections, it added. An AP report will be referred to the election committee in Egypt with all remarks included, the statement said.

Egyptians abroad were started to cast their ballot in the Egyptian Senate election on Sunday via the mail.

As they are not allowed to go to embassies like they used to do every election, Egyptian expatriates in 124 countries will be participating in the elections remotely by sending their votes via mail as part of the precautionary corona-virus related measures.  

Egyptians who have a valid passport or national ID and registered in the voters’ lists are entitled to cast their ballots in the elections, according to the National Election Authority (NEA).

The National Election Authority, which is in charge of supervising the electoral process in Egypt, has excluded expats in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia from voting in the August Senate elections, due to unstable conditions of these states.

In case of a re-election, the ballot will be held abroad on Sunday and Monday (September 6 and 7).

The voter database contains approximately 63 million eligible voters in the Senate election.

The NEA issued a decision on the formation of committees to follow up on the election and report any campaigning violations nationwide. The NEA detailed that such violations include bullying, the use of religious or discrimination symbols, or worshipping places in the campaigning and posing threats to national unity, among others.

The Senate will be made up of 300 members, with one third to be elected through the individual system, the second third through the closed list system, and the last third to be named by the president.

In addition to this, at least 10 percent of the Senate seats should be occupied by women, and there will be 27 constituencies for the individual system, and four constituencies for the closed list system.

The senator's term of office will be five years and it will start as of the first meeting of the Senate.

A Senate candidate, according to the bill, should be of Egyptian nationality and should have performed the military service and enjoy full political and civil rights and have a university degree.

The Senate will be tasked with making suggestions on how to promote democracy and social peace, as well as maintaining values and freedoms in the society.

It will also give its opinion on suggestions to amend the constitution, the draft national plan for social and economic development, and peace and alliance conventions.

The president may also seek the opinion of the Senate on issues related to the State's general policy and its Arab and foreign affairs.

Know about the role of the reinstated Egyptian Senate within the current political scene:

Report: Egyptian expats due to cast ballot in Senate election Sunday

CAIRO - 8 August 2020: Egyptians abroad are due to cast their ballot in the Egyptian Senate election on Sunday via the mail. As they are not allowed to go to embassies like they used to do every election, Egyptian expatriates in 124 countries will be participating in the elections remotely by sending their votes via mail as part of the precautionary corona-virus related measures.