CAIRO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has approved the amendment to the legislative election law and called on Egyptians to participate in the first parliamentary vote since the approval of the new constitution, official MENA news agency reported on Friday.
According to a presidential decree issued late Thursday, the polls will be held in four stages spanning from April 27 to June 27, and the first session of the new parliament is scheduled to be held on July 6.
Earlier on Thursday, Egypt's Shura Council (upper house of the parliament), which holds legislative power after the lower house was dissolved, endorsed the amendment referred by the constitutional court that deemed part of the previous election law "unconstitutional."
The court's commissioners challenged the constitutionality of an article that allows party members to compete for individual seats, which they said would crowd out independent contenders.
The commissioners also challenged articles on the division of constituencies, qualification of candidacy, and the judicial supervision of overseas Egyptians' votes, as well as an article that they said is gender-biased.
The Shura Council, which endorsed all the amendment the court submitted, assumed full legislative authority in December 2012 and will hold the power until the People's Assembly (lower house) is elected.
