US calls for free and fair elections in Egypt

The United States has called for a "transparent, free and fair" parliamentary elections in Egypt, which were announced a day earlier in the capital city of Cairo by the country's president Mohammed Mursi.
"We encourage the Egyptian government to carry out the upcoming parliamentary elections in a transparent, free and fair manner. That includes allowing independent domestic and international organisations to monitor the process, in keeping with standard practices," the State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday.
Nuland said the Egyptian people have the every right to expect that the highest international standards are adopted during the elections and to be assured of a safe and secured government.

The United States is encouraging all political parties and individuals, who are interested to represent the Egyptian people, to participate in the elections, she said.
"This is democracy in action, and it needs to be a vibrant and fully participatory process. We want to see a level playing field. We want to see anybody who chooses to participate be able to do so. We want to see a strong turnout," the US official noted.
Mursi, in a decree last night, announced that the vote will take place in four stages due to a shortage of election supervisors. The new parliament will convene on July 6.

The election process will take place in four stages, April 27-28, May 15-16 and June 2-3 and 19-20, according to the official decree released by the president's spokesman, Yassir Ali. Runoffs will be held one week after each stage.