International IDEA and the High Election Committee co-host high-level meeting in Cairo on the upcoming elections
Under the memorandum of understanding that International IDEA signed with the High Elections Committee in Egypt (HEC), the Cairo programme organized a meeting between foreign embassies present in Egypt and the HEC. The 11 July meeting was held to explain the management of the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country, in alignment with the committee’s dedication to transparency on the international level.
The HEC presented an outline and explained its role in the management of the electoral process and highlighted key areas of the legal framework. The presentation was followed by an open discussion with the participants and a question-and-answer period.
More than 30 ambassadors and diplomats were present, including those from International IDEA member states, including officials from Mexico, Belgium, Japan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Australia and India were present as well as representatives from the Office of International Cooperation—Swiss Embassy, the European Union, 10 judges from the HEC, and representatives from the different state institutions involved in the electoral process. The meeting was held parallel to the start of the adoption of three electoral laws: the Districts law, Exercising Political Rights law and the House of Representatives law, which International IDEA will translate once released.
During the Q&A session, the HEC clarified issues related to the implementation of the laws, some questions related to the electoral system and the situation of the national and international observation of elections. The spokesperson confirmed that the HEC will allow those observers who have been accredited in the past to observe the parliamentary elections while noting that a new registration period will be open for observers new to the process.
International IDEA plans to repeat this meeting in the middle and at the end of the electoral process to sustain and secure the direct connection between the embassies and the HEC during the election process.
