Egypt will hold parliamentary elections on Oct. 24-25, elections commisioner Lasheen Ibrahim told a televised press conference on Thursday.
Egyptians abroad will be able to vote on Oct. 21-23, Ibrahim added.
Final results following re-runs will be announced in December and the new legislature will hold its inaugural session in early January.
The North Africa country last held House of Representatives’ elections in 2015 with supporters of President Abel Fattah El Sisi, who was first elected to power in 2014, dominating the House.
Mr El Sisi was re-elected in 2018, defeating a little-known politician ranked among Mr El Sisi’s supporters.
Several potential challengers, including two former generals and an active-service colonel, were either convicted and imprisoned for breaching the military code or reportedly pressured to drop out of the race.
In 2019, a nationwide referendum adopted constitutional amendments that allow Mr El Sissi to stay in power until 2030 if he selects to do so. The changes also resurrected an upper house of parliament, formally known as the House of Senators, that was struck out by the country’s 2014 constitution.
Elections for the advisory, 300-seat senate took place in August and reruns were held this month. The new chamber will be held by supporters of Mr El Sisi. Turnout for the senate’s election, however, was only 14.23 per cent of the country’s more than 60 million registered voters. Commentators attributed the low turnout to the coronavirus pandemic, a lack of awareness about the new chamber and voter apathy.
Mr Ibrahim appealed to voters to go to the polls in the upcoming elections.
“Voting is a moral commitment and a patriotic duty before it is a legal commitment prescribed by the constitution and the law,” he said.