Upper House in Egypt OKs Election Guidelines

Egypt’s upper house of parliament on Sunday approved guidelines to regulate the first multicandidate presidential elections, but opposition figures criticized the rules, saying they aimed to exclude real competitors to President Hosni Mubarak.

Mubarak, 77, hasn’t announced whether he will run for a fifth term on the September ballot but is widely expected to do so. The president has said no religious-oriented political parties will be allowed to compete.

The suggested constitutional amendment for the election was approved by 241 members of the 264-seat advisory Shura Council in a vote called historic by Speaker Safwat Sherif, according to the Middle East News Agency.

The guidelines must now go before the lower house, which will review them Tuesday. They will later be put to a public referendum for final approval before September.

Previously, Egyptians cast only a “yes” or “no” vote on a sole candidate nominated by parliament every six years.

“These are historic and decisive moments in the life of our nation,” Sherif said.

The guidelines stipulate that a presidential candidate must be either a member of an official political party or, if running as an independent, get a minimum of 65 recommendations from elected members of the lower house, 25 from the Shura Council and 10 from local councils from at least 14 governorates.

The regulations were seen by the opposition as putting a gag on serious contenders, as all the elected bodies are dominated by Mubarak’s ruling party and its supporters.

“These regulations are utterly disappointing, totally undemocratic,” said Hamdeen Sabahi, an independent lawmaker in the lower house. “We will not witness real elections but a crude soap opera.”