Preparations for Egypt's parliamentary elections will shift
into high gear this week, with hopeful candidates beginning on Saturday to take
the required medical tests and check-ups in line with the National Elections
Authority’s (NEA) rules.
A statement by the NEA said that hopeful candidates can use the Ministry of Health's website to report their personal data, select the hospital or the lab they favor, and make an appointment for the medical check-up.
Article 10 of the House of Representatives' Law (law 140/2020) stipulates that a hopeful seeking to run in parliamentary elections should submit a number of papers, including a medical check-up document showing that he/she tests negative for drugs.
A number of current MPs including parliamentary spokesperson Salah Hassaballah, leftist MP Abdel-Hamid Kamal, and deputy speaker Soliman Wahdan underwent the necessary medical check-ups on Saturday.
The medical check-ups come a few days ahead of the start of candidacy registration on 17 September, and runs until 26 September.
The NEA held a surprise meeting on 10 September, announcing that registration will open on 17 September and that the two-stage election will kick off on 21 October and wrap up on 14 December.
The first stage will cover 14 governorates between 21 October and 30 November. These include Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, the Red Sea, Alexandria, Beheira, and Marsa Matruh.
The second stage will cover 13 governorates between 4 November and 14 December. These comprise Cairo, Qalioubiya, Daqahliyya, Menoufiya, Gharbiya, Kafr El-Sheikh, Sharqiya, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailiya, Suez, North Sinai, and South Sinai.
A total of 568 seats will be up for grabs in Egypt's upcoming parliamentary elections, while another 28 seats (5 per cent) will be named by the president, bringing the House's seats to a total of 596.
The 568 seats are split equally between individual and party list deputies – meaning there will be 284 candidates from each category. The House election law stipulates that 25 percent of the total seats must be reserved for women.
Source: Ahram Online
