Egypt permits 73 organizations to monitor upcoming referendum, elections

Egypt's Higher Election Commission approved Sunday requests of 73 organizations to monitor the upcoming constitution referendum and parliamentary elections. In a press statement, the Commission Spokesman Hesham Mokhtar said 67 permissions were issued for local organizations and six for foreign organizations. Mokhtar named the foreign organizations as the Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa, the Carter Center, the Election Network in the Arab Region, the world democracy organization, the International Transparency Organization and Global Network for Rights and Development. Egyptian interim government has not set specific dates for the referendum on the constitution currently drafted or the upcoming parliamentary elections. But last Week, the Foreign Ministry Nabil Fahmy expected that the referendum on the constitution would be held late December and the parliamentary elections would be organized in February or March.