Egypt's Sisi promises new parliament before 2016

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said late Sunday that the country will have a new parliament by the end of 2015, calling on the armed forces and police to completely secure the voting process.

Egypt has been without a parliament for about three years, as the one elected in late 2011, months after the ouster of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak, was dissolved in June 2012 by a court order, Xinhua news agency reported.

"All required legislations for the coming parliamentary elections have been accomplished, and by the end of this year we will have a parliament," the Egyptian president said hare.

 

The polls were due to be held from March 21 until May 7, but the constitutional appeals against the newly-drafted election law delayed the process.

President Sisi, who removed former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi as then-army chief in mid-2013 in response to mass protests, is currently holding the country's legislative authority in the absence of a parliament.

"I ask all Egyptians, the political forces, parties and all those concerned, to vote impartially for once for the sake of your country, because the coming parliament will either be a starting point for a better future or the other way round," Sisi said.