Following Presidential decree issued for its formation, the National Elections Commission (NEC) headed by Vice President of the Court of Cassation Lashin Ibrahim, held its first meeting on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the members discussed the work plan and the agenda of the commission during the next phase. They also set the committees of the commission and selected the head of the executive body of the commission and its deputies.
The outcome of the meeting will send to presidency for approval.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi issued on Tuesday a decree to form the board of the NEC, that will be assigned of supervising all national elections and referendums. The commission will be also supervising the upcoming presidential election that will take place in May.
NEC is leaded by members of judicial authorities. Constitutional Article of 209 stipulates that NEC “shall be administered by a board composed of 10 members to be equally assigned on full time basis from among those ranked as Vice-presidents of the Court of Cassation, those ranked as Presidents of the Courts of Appeal, Vice-presidents of the State Council, the State Lawsuits Organization and the Administrative Prosecution”.
The parliament approved, in its general session in July a draft law concerning the commission and the president ratified it in August. The draft law stipulates the establishment of the NEC as an independent body with technical, financial, and administrative independence, to monitor presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, and to organise all its related operations.
Egypt’s constitution of 2014 stipulates the establishment of the commission, stating that “the commission shall have a permanent executive body. The law shall determine the composition and constitution of such executive body, and the rights, duties, and guarantees of its members in a way that achieves their neutrality, independence, and integrity”.
