Egypt's Presidential Election Set to Begin in May

Egypt's first presidential election, since the Egyptian revolution which toppled the dictatorial Hosni Mubarak regime in February last year, is scheduled to begin in May, the head of the electoral commission Farouk Sultan has said.

The first round would be held over two days on May 23 and 24, and the final race is set for June 16 and 17, Sultan said, according to a BBC report.

The incumbent military council said power transmission will take place soon after the results are declared.

The lower and upper houses of the Egyptian parliament will meet Saturday to select a 100-member panel to draft a new constitution, which needs to be approved in a referendum before conducting the presidential race.

Sultan said the electoral commission will accept candidates' applications between March 10 and April 8 and is confident that a constitution will be drafted within the available time frame. A list of candidates will be announced on April 26, and the campaigning is set to be held between April 30 and May 29.

He ruled out the possibility of international monitors for the poll.

The criteria for seeking candidature was released in January that said the candidates have to be born in Egypt, without dual nationality and must not be married to a foreigner.

Candidates who are likely to run for presidency include Amr Moussa, the former Secretary General of the League of Arab States and former Foreign Minister; Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, a Salafist conservative; Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Secretary General of the Arab Medical Union; Mohammad Salim Al-Awa, former Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars; Bothaina Kamel, political activist and Tahrir Square revolutionary; and Ahmed Shafik, the last Prime Minister during the Hosni Mubarak regime.