International and local civil society organisations can apply to supervise Egypt's April 2013 parliamentary elections until 15 February, the deadline for submitting applications to Egypt's Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC), the SEC announced Wednesday.

The poll, slated to be held in April, will elect members of a new House of Representatives (the lower house of Egypt's parliament, formerly known as the People's Assembly) after the previous assembly was dissolved last summer.

The SEC will release a statement by 22 February listing the NGOs whose requests have been accepted. The NGOs may then register their intended representatives via the SEC's official website (www.elections.eg) by 5 March.

The SEC will provide permits by 20 March for representatives who have passed the screening process.

The SEC has also stated that, following the election process, participating NGOs would be expected to submit a document detailing the positive and negative aspects that they had observed during their supervision of the balloting.