SCAF Confirms Elections Will Be Held as Planned

SCAF Confirms Elections Will Be Held as Planned

Insisting on ending the transitional period and handing over power, Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has confirmed that elections will be held as scheduled. It stressed they wanted to return to their barracks and were eager to hand over power to civilians.
 
Speaking to Al-Hayat television, Egypt’s armed forces ruled out any change to election dates, saying the military council wanted to restore power to civilians after elections by the end of 2011.
 
Despite opposition calling on the army to delay elections, since the September date favors Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood group and arguing that holding the vote in September will not give them time to organize and raise campaign funds, General Hassan el-Rowainy of the SCAF, asserted that parliamentary elections would be held on time and the year will not pass without an elected president for Egypt.
 
Although a referendum held in March revealed that 77% of voters backed constitutional amendments that would allow the military to hold parliamentary elections in September and presidential elections before the end of the year, no new election law has been finalized.