Egypt’s Senate to witness inaugural session, October 18

CAIRO – 14 October 2020: Egypt’s Senate is ready for its inaugural session on October 18, which will be witnessing electing the Speaker and the two deputies.

The historic hall of the Senate was announced to be fully prepared with all needed technologies and equipment including a full electronic voting system.

 

About four seats in the first row were allocated to the right of the podium for ministers, in addition to other two seats for the speaker's deputies to the left of the podium.

To accommodate the entire 300 members of the Senate, the hall was provided with 61 individual seats as well as various screens inside the hall.

 

On October 1, Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al Sisi issued, decree no. 577 of 2020 to invite the Senate to hold its first regular session of the first legislative term on Sunday, October 18, at 12 p.m. local time. The decree was published in the Official Gazette.

In August, Counselor Lashin Ibrahim, head of the National Elections Authority and deputy president of the Court of Cassation announced that 8.959 million votes casted their ballots in the Senate elections.

 

During a press conference to announce the 2020 Senate Election results, Ibrahim noted that the participation rate in the election has reached 14.23 per cent.

The total number of valid votes reached nearly 7 million votes, with an attendance rate of 84 percent, while the number of invalid votes reached nearly one million votes, NEA head added. The run-off elections were held later in September.

About 11 political parties included in the ‘National List for Egypt’, which settled its seats in the 2020 Senate elections. The parties included: “Nation's Future Party, Homeland Defenders Party, Conference Party, Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Al-Wafd, Republican People's Party, Egyptian Patriotic Movement, Modern Egypt Party, Reform and Development Party, National Progressive Unionist Party, Elhorya ElMasry party, Coordination of Parties Youth and Politicians along with other politicians”

The only electoral list included 35 main candidates and other 35 alternates.

The 2020 Senate elections were held abroad on 9 and 10 August, while locally it was held on 11 and 12 of the same months.

Citizens and officials, including the President, were seen while casting their ballots in the elections of the re-instated Egyptian Senate, amid calls for citizens to practice their constitutional right for the vital role the Senate is expected to play in the political scene.