"Egypt should organize elections as quickly as possible": EU High Representative
EU’s high representative advises Egyptian authorities to organize elections as quickly as possible
BRUSSELS
The EU’s Foreign Relations Chief Catherine Ashton said on Sunday that she hopes the new constitution would help the implementation of democracy in Egypt.
Congratulating the Egyptian people and the authorities responsible for organizing the vote ‘in a largely orderly manner’, the high representative said the EU is not in a position to make a thorough assessment of the conduct of the referendum.
“These do not appear to have fundamentally affected the outcome,” Ashton said.
Remarking her strong regret on the violation related to the referendum, Ashton said, “I also note that there is an ample majority of votes in favour.”
Emphasizing that all existing and future legislations would have to be in compliance with the new constitution, Ashton said she trusts the authorities would move forward with the constitutional roadmap and organize elections as quickly as possible, leading to a fair representation of different political views in the future parliament.
The country's first democratically elected President Morsi was ousted on July 3, 2013, by a military coup led by army chief Abdul Fatah al-Sisi. A mass crackdown against pro-democracy activists followed, leading to Muslim Brotherhood's designation as a terrorist organization and arrests of its members by security forces.
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