Official lays out election timetable CAIRO — A Cairo court Wednesday sentenced the former information minister to seven years behind bars and the former head of state TV to five years on corruption charges. Judge Abdallah Abul Hashem ordered ex-information minister Anas Al-Fikki jailed for seven years “for squandering public money.” Osama Al-Sheikh, head of the Egyptian Television and Radio Union, was sentenced to five years on similar charges in a case involving the purchase of soap operas at inflated prices. Chaos broke out in the court when the verdict for Sheikh was read, with his supporters lunging past security towards the judge as others threw bottles at him. Judge Abul Hashem had to be whisked away by security. Sheikh had been cleared in a previous corruption case and his family and supporters had expected him to be released. The two are the latest in a string of former regime officials to go on trial since a popular revolt ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February. Mubarak himself is on trial for allegedly ordering the killings of anti-regime protesters and for alleged corruption. His two sons are also on trial for alleged corruption. Meanwhile, Egypt's first parliamentary elections since the fall of president Hosni Mubarak's regime will be held in 12 stages, including run-offs, over a period of four months, according to details published on Wednesday. Elections for members of the lower house and upper house – the People's Assembly and the Shura Council -- will be divided into three stages each, with a run-off for every stage. Voting kicks off for the People's Assembly on Nov. 28 in nine consitutencies (one third), with a run-off scheduled on Dec. 5, the state-owned Al-Ahram reported quoting a senior official. The second round of voting also covers nine constituencies and begins on Dec. 14, with a run-off on Dec. 21, while the final round of voting starts on Jan. 3 with a run-off a week later. The Shura Council elections will be held in three rounds beginning on Jan. 29 and ending on March 11, the paper said. The People's Assembly is scheduled to hold its first session on March 17 and the Shura Council on March 24. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) which took power when Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February had promised a six month transition period before handing power to civilian rule. Following the parliamentary and senate election, a committee will draft a new constitution to replace that of Mubarak and then presidential elections will be held. The committee has up to six months to finish its work, meaning the presidential election might not be held until the end of August.
