The Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasseya started registering voters’ who will cast their ballots for the new pope on Tuesday. Elections will take place by mid-August.
Bishop Morqos, head of the voters’ registration committee, said the names of MPs, ministers and journalists who are eligible to vote according to the 1957 regulation will be individually received, whereas the names of lay leaders will be collectively received through nomination letters from archbishoprics.
The committee will revise names and draft voter lists ahead of officially announcing them and allowing for appeals.
The 1957 regulation, which organizes elections of the pope, states that members of the Holy Synod, secretaries and deputies of the monasteries, 72 lay leaders from Cairo, 24 from Alexandria, 12 representatives from every archbishopric, members of the Millet Council, current and former Coptic ministers, MPs and Coptic members of the Journalist Syndicate are eligible to vote. It excluded those below the age of 35. The number of voters is expected to reach 1,600.
The committee is formed from five members; three of whom are bishops including bishop Morqos of Shubra al-Kheima, bishop Timotheus of Zagazig and bishop Theodosius of Giza. The two lay members are Hani Kamil and Mansi Thabet.
Translated from MENA
