Morsi Moves Election Day in Egypt to Avoid Holiday Conflict

Source:
NYTimes.com
Date of source:
10 Mar 2013
Reference:
President Mohamed Morsi
[2]
 on Sunday changed the dates for the parliamentary
elections to avoid conflict with the Coptic Christian celebrations of Palm Sunday
and Easter on April 28 and May 5. The announcement last week that the
elections would begin on April 27 and 28 and continue on May 4 and 5 set off an
uproar among Coptic Christians because the overlap with their holidays would
parliamentary elections to avoid
conflict with the Coptic Christian
celebrations of Palm Sunday and
Easter on April 28 and May 5. The
announcement last week that the
elections would begin on April 27 and
28 and continue on May 4 and 5 set off an uproar among Coptic
Christians because the overlap with their holidays would have put a
special burden on Coptic voters. Mr. Morsi is a Muslim who led the
Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, and the scheduling decision also
raised questions about his awareness of the concerns of Coptic
Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 85 million
residents. Almost any Copt could have told the government that the initial voting plan
called for balloting on both holidays. Citing unnamed sources in the president’s office,
Egyptian state media said the initial scheduling was an unintentional error and quickly
fixed. The elections will now begin on April 22.