Egypt to hold parliamentary polls in February, March 2014

The Egyptian foreign minister has announced the parliamentary and presidential elections will be held between February and March 2014 in a bid to end the uncertainty over the country's democratic transition after Mohamed Morsi's ouster in July.

Nabil Fahmy gave a loose schedule for parliamentary polls and said a president will be elected by early summer, the Guardian reports.

Egypt has lacked a lower house of parliament since summer 2012, when it was dissolved by the country's Supreme Court.

Following this, the only elected officials were Mohamed Morsi, who became the first democratically chosen president in June 2012, and the members of the Shura council, Egypt's upper house.

However, both were ousted in July after a military intervention transferred all executive and legislative power to an interim president under a senior judge.

It is unclear that who will be allowed to take part in the elections as the new constitution has still not been completed, the report added.

Fahmy said that the committee currently debating the content of the constitution might ban the involvement of religious-based parties in the political process.