Egyptian Military Postpones Parliamentary Elections

By Gabrielle Pfafflin

Following early July protests in Suez, Alexandria, and Tahrir, the Egyptian military announced Wednesday that parliamentary elections will be postponed until either October or November. The exact date remains unknown.

In the aftermath of a recent revolution in which Hosni Mubarak abdicated his power, the Egyptian military still has not reconstructed an infrastructure capable of hosting a country-wide election. This failure to reformat the government prompted strong public dissent and protests throughout Egypt in early July.

A military official told the state media, “[The electoral process would] take no less than 30 days and up to 50 or 60 days, which is why elections would be held in October or November.”

According to the Associated Press, this sudden change may result in more competitive elections, because “many of the political parties that arose from the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising…sought to delay the vote so that they could compete more effectively against better prepared and financed Islamists, like the Muslim Brotherhood.”

However, the postponement of parliamentary elections validates concerns that the Egyptian government pro tempore cannot fulfill promises to reestablish a functional democratic government by the six-month anniversary of the Constitutional Declaration. Many other people worry that the military is simply rebuilding Mubarak’s regime, due to the reinstatement of the Ministry of Information, which is widely seen as a propaganda tool of the old regime.

To nullify further dissatisfaction among the Egyptian public, the military dismissed 700 top police officers accused of abusing and murdering 900 protesters during the Egyptian revolution. The military also announced a draft of regulations to limit Islamist influence in the drafting of the Constitution.

The Associated Press reported that in response to these recent developments, protesters allowed business to resume in the city’s largest government building. 

Citizens expect a new constitution to be drafted after this year’s elections.