The Cabinet under Prime Minister Sherif Ismail approved in principle a draft law on establishing a national authority for elections and sending it to the State Council's legislative section for revision and to prepare a final draft to be submitted to the parliament.

The draft law prescribes that the national authority for elections is an independent body to be solely in charge of running the presidential, legislative and municipal elections and referendums and organizing and overseeing the whole process independently and impartially.

The authority will have an executive body, and a board of ten members (deputies of the head of the cassation court, heads of courts of appeals, deputies of the State Council head, deputies of head of the State Lawsuits Authority and deputies of the Administrative Prosecution Authority head – two members from each entity) to be chosen by the Supreme Judicial Council and specialized boards of different judicial authorities.

Its chair will be its oldest member from the cassation court, the draft law rules.

The authority's chair and heads and members of its board, executive body, general committees, branch committees and follow-up committees will be granted the judicial arrest power for the crimes prescribed in the law governing the exercise of political rights and any related laws during the times of referendums and elections.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the government is completing measures needed for holding the municipal elections as soon as possible and is currently finalizing a draft law on local administration.

Source: MENA