Egypt's parliament approves revised election lawApril 11, 2013 - 21:44 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's parliament approved a revised election law on Thursday, April 11 setting rules for a parliamentary poll later this year, but opposition politicians denounced the new statute and repeated a threat to boycott the vote, Reuters said. The Islamist-dominated upper house will now send the text to the Supreme Constitutional Court to check the legality of the voting procedures for a new lower house. The court has 45 days to review the bill. President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist elected last year, originally called elections for April but postponed them when the court annulled the decree setting the dates. Mursi has said elections could now begin in October, completing the democratic transition from the rule of ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak after more than two years of political and economic turmoil. However, opposition members told Reuters they believed the upper house's passage of a flawed law showed that Mursi and his Islamist allies were determined to press ahead without seeking a national consensus. A separate court ruling last year dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-led lower chamber elected in 2011-12. The opposition National Salvation Front, a loose alliance of leftist and liberal parties, had said it would boycott the April elections, arguing that the law was rigged to suit Islamists and demanding a neutral government to guarantee a fair vote. Members of the opposition alliance said the adoption of the new law gave them no reason to participate in the polls. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |