Egypt: Presidential Elections May Come First

Parliamentary elections were supposed to happen first

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Egypt’s interim government will likely call a presidential election before parliamentary elections.

Citing sources, both both the Associated Press and Reuters report the new timetable puts picking a new premier first. Under the roadmap put forward by the military after it ousted former Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi in July, parliamentary elections were supposed to happen first. This new arrangement could see army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi elected head of State by April next year, Reuters reports.

The AP reports that on Sunday, the interim head of state, Adly Mansour, said a presidential election could come before a parliamentary poll without violating the military-backed roadmap.

In recent meetings with Mansour political figures have been lobbying for the change so that the troubled country could have an elected leader to direct government and help unify parliament, Reuters reports.

The Muslim Brotherhood has won five elections since the downfall of dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011. But last week the interim government officially declared the Islamist movement a terrorist group.

[Reuters]

[AP]