Egypt Passes Parties Law, Sets Date for Parliament Elections

Egypt’s ruling military council said the first parliamentary elections since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak will be held in September and a new law has been passed easing some curbs on forming political parties.

The vote won’t be held under the decades-old state of emergency now in place, Major General Mamdouh Shahine, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, told reporters in Cairo today, indicating emergency laws could be lifted before then. A date hasn’t been set for a presidential vote yet, he said. He indicated presidential polls would be held after the legislative vote. Mubarak ceded interim authority to the council on Feb. 11 after weeks of protests demanding political freedoms.