Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi is considering rescheduling parliamentary elections after Coptic Christians complained they would clash with the Easter period, his office said today.
Today President Mursi said he is seriously considering rescheduling elections to avoid any overlap with Coptic
Christian holidays,” the presidency said on its English-language Twitter account.
It did not give details on a possible new schedule for the election, which will replace an Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved by a court on a technicality before Islamist Mursi was elected in June.
Mursi issued a decree on Thursday to begin the four-round election on April 27 and 28, the dates of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, two important days in the church’s pre-Easter calendar The following Sunday — May 5 — is when the runoff for the first round would be held and is Easter Day for the Copts.
Bishop Morcos, a senior figure in the Coptic Church, said holding the first round on a Christian holiday would “affect the percentage of (Coptic) votes,” the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.
————————-(AFP)