J-10
03-05-2005, 09:40 PM
Egypt Lawmakers OK Multi-Party Elections
Sat Mar 5, 6:23 PM ET Middle East - AP
CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian legislators in one chamber voted Saturday to allow the country's first presidential elections with more than one candidate.
A week after President Hosni Mubarak surprised the nation by ordering elections with a choice for president, legislators in the parliament's upper house approved the constitutional amendment sanctioning such a ballot.
The amendment still needs to be approved by parliament's lower house, and no date is set on when it will meet to discuss the change.
It will be the first time in Egypt's modern history that the country can vote for more than one presidential candidate. Previously people had to vote "yes" or "no" for a single candidate approved by both houses of parliament.
The upper house, or Shura Council, is half elected by popular vote, half appointed by Mubarak, and is seen more as a rubber stamping body than an effective legislature.
There has been no independent monitoring of Egypt's presidential elections since Mubarak came to power in 1981, but human rights organizations said earlier this week that they had formed a group to monitor this year's vote.
From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=7&u=/ap/20050305/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_presidential_elections)
Sat Mar 5, 6:23 PM ET Middle East - AP
CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian legislators in one chamber voted Saturday to allow the country's first presidential elections with more than one candidate.
A week after President Hosni Mubarak surprised the nation by ordering elections with a choice for president, legislators in the parliament's upper house approved the constitutional amendment sanctioning such a ballot.
The amendment still needs to be approved by parliament's lower house, and no date is set on when it will meet to discuss the change.
It will be the first time in Egypt's modern history that the country can vote for more than one presidential candidate. Previously people had to vote "yes" or "no" for a single candidate approved by both houses of parliament.
The upper house, or Shura Council, is half elected by popular vote, half appointed by Mubarak, and is seen more as a rubber stamping body than an effective legislature.
There has been no independent monitoring of Egypt's presidential elections since Mubarak came to power in 1981, but human rights organizations said earlier this week that they had formed a group to monitor this year's vote.
From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=7&u=/ap/20050305/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_presidential_elections)