CAIRO: A number of judges have received threatening text message to deter them from overseeing parliamentary elections, according to the Judges Club.
Some of the messages said “leave the elections because your life is more important,” Mohamed Abdou told reporters Sunday.
The Ministry of Justice has informed the police of the incidents to track the cell phone numbers from which the messages were sent, Abdou said, adding that judges reported the messages and went ahead to their designated polling stations.
Thousands of judges and prosecutors oversee the voting process in thousands of polling stations across Egypt.
The first phase of the parliamentary elections runs Sunday-Monday for over 27 million Egyptian voters who live in Egypt. Over 2,600 candidates contest in the first phase carried out in 103 constituencies in 14 governorates, including Giza.
The second phase will be held Nov. 22-23, covering 13 governorates including Cairo.
Any run-offs necessary will be scheduled for Oct 26-27 and Nov 30-Dec, with the final results announced in December.
Egypt’s parliament will consist of 568 elected with quotas for youth, women, and Christians. Constitutionally, the president may appoint five percent of the total number of elected members.