Egypt's Morsi expects October parliamentary polls: MENA

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi attends the opening the Arab League summit in the Qatari capital Doha on March 26, 2013. AP Photo

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi expects parliamentary elections to be held in October, the official MENA news agency said Wednesday, after the vote was delayed by legal and political challenges.
 
Morsi, speaking to the Egyptian community in Doha where he attended an Arab summit, said he "expected parliamentary elections would be held in October and that parliament would be in session before the year's end," MENA said.
 
The upper house of parliament -- which temporarily holds legislative power -- approved a new electoral law late on Tuesday. The bill is to be reviewed by the country's top court being before ratification.
 
The parliamentary vote was scheduled for April but an administrative court ordered its cancellation because it said Morsi had ratified the new electoral law without sending it to the Supreme Constitutional Court for approval, as required by the constitution.
 
The president had repeatedly insisted that elections would usher in stability, dismissing criticism that the timing of the polls was wrong with the country gripped by unrest and deep political division.
 
Egypt's main opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front, had already announced it would boycott the April vote -- expressing doubts over its transparency -- and demanded a new electoral law.