Egypt sets parliamentary election dates

GlobalPost

Egypt has set the dates for its first parliamentary elections since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.

The official MENA news agency announced Tuesday that the first stage of the elections will begin on November 28, according to Al Jazeera.

For the lower house, the second and third stages will take place on December 14 and January 3. The first session of parliament will be held on March 17. For the upper house, elections will start on January 29, and the first session of parliament will be held on March 24.

Tuesday announcement comes at a time of tension between the military council and protest movement over the nation's transition to democracy, Al Jazeera states.

The military also announced an amended election law, AFP reports. Two-thirds of parliament will now be elected through a party list proportional representation system, and the rest through a majority. Some political parties have rejected the law on the basis that it would allow old regime figures to return to power.

Meanwhile, GlobalPost's Jon Jensen wrote earlier this week that Egypt's army appears to have hijacked the nation's revolution.

"As the so-called Supreme Council of the Armed Forces increasingly cements, and in some cases flaunts, its firm grip on power, the revolution that inspired a region is beginning to look more like an old-fashioned military coup," he wrote.

More from GlobalPost: Has Egypt's revolution become a military coup?

In other Egypt news, Jensen also reports that a section of the Egyptian gas pipeline that supplies both Israel and Jordan exploded after being attacked by gunmen early on Tuesday morning.

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