Egypt pushed back the closing date for parties to register in a parliamentary election for the second time on Saturday after some politicians asked for more time to do their applications, the head of the election committee said. Egypt's first multi-candidate vote since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled after 30 years in power is a crucial test of the ruling military's commitment to end decades of autocratic rule in the Arab world's most populous country.
Registration has been slow so far, seemingly because coalitions have broken down at the last minute and some parties have had trouble raising funds. Abdel Moez Ibrahim, the head of the committee, said in a statement carried by state news agency MENA candidates could register until Monday rather than Saturday. The deadline was first set for last Tuesday. "For the first time, election rules have been changed ... Despite this, the number of candidates is not complete," analyst Diaa Rashwan wrote in al-Masry al-Youm paper on Saturday before the deadline was postponed for the second time. Elections for parliament are due to start on November 28 for a staggered four-months vote for the upper and lower houses.
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