Egypt for the first stage will cast ballots on October  17-18 

Egypt on Sunday announced that long-awaited parliamentary elections will take place in October and November, a hoped-for step toward democracy amid a harsh crackdown on dissent. Ayman Abbas, head of the Supreme Election Committee, said that half the country’s 27 governorates will vote on Oct. 18-19.

The second stage will take place for the remaining governorates on Nov. 22-23. Voters outside Egypt for the first stage will cast ballots on Oct. 17-18, and the rest on Nov. 21-22. The period for candidates to register opens Sept. 1 and lasts 12 days. Egypt has been without a legislature for three years. In its absence, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi holds legislative authority and has passed dozens of laws by decree in just over a year of his tenure. Parliamentary elections were supposed to be held in March, but a court suspended them over districting issues.