Egypt's rulers outline electoral roadmap

Egypt's military rulers have announced that the country's first parliamentary elections since former dictator Hosni Mubarak was ousted will be held in a three-round process beginning on November 28. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued a decree on Tuesday, saying that the vote for election of the members of the parliament, which is referred to as the People's Assembly, will be on November 28, December 14, and January 3, AFP reported. Each stage will sound out the electorate in nine governorates. The new assembly will convene on March 17 and then the presidential elections will follow. The council also announced that a three-stage vote will be held between January 29 and March 11 for appointment of lawmakers to the Upper House or the Shura Council. The decree also included a controversial amendment to the electoral law, which stipulates that two-thirds of the parliament members should be elected through a representation system, which is proportional to the party list. Accordingly, one-third of the assembly will be elected through a simple majority from independent candidates, who are not allowed to join any political parties during their term in parliament. More than two dozen parties have rejected the amended law. They say the so-called constitutional reform paves the way for the return of former regime figures to the country's political arena more than seven months after removal through a popular revolution of the three-decade-long authoritarian rule of Mubarak's government.