Chief of the Higher Election Commission Counselor Samir Abu Al-Maati said Saturday candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections will open as of next Saturday and run till March 16.

Applications by candidates will be received daily starting from 9 a.m and till 8 p.m except for the final day, the gates will be closed at 5 p.m, this came at a press conference held earlier on Saturday in the premises of the Higher Election Commission (HEC).

Counselor Abu Al-Maati said the commission has already finalized the update of voters' lists following the issuance of the republican decree which called on voters to participate in the parliamentary elections.

Abu Al-Maati said that as many as 664,105 Egyptians abroad are eligible voters in the upcoming parliamentary elections. He added that the number of Egyptian expatriates registered at the voters' lists increased by 77,614 compared with figures recorded in the last polls.

Concerning local and international observers, Abu Al-Maati said that the commission has issued a decision setting the regulations and standards that should be met by each local or international organization desiring to follow up the elections. He added that doors were opened to receive applications from those organizations as of January 2013, where the commission has examined all applications and decided to accept applications of organizations that meet such regulations and standards.

The HEC Chief stressed that the commission has accepted applications of 50 local organizations and 4 international ones, including Carter Center, to follow up the parliamentary elections. A number of international bodies submitted applications to the commission, including the European Union, the African Union and some diplomatic entities in Egypt, and the commission has accepted their demands to follow up elections, he added.

Counselor Abu Al-Maati said that the commission has sent an invitation to the Arab League. He stressed that all representatives of international media outlets have the right to follow up the parliamentary elections, provided that they should obtain permits from the State Information Service (SIS). As for representatives of the local media outlets, they should introduce IDs that show the media body they are working with.