Egypt's state council has ratified the parliamentary elections constituencies law sending it back to the government to review amendments it has made.

The law that was passed by the cabinet last week is the final step necessary before the parliamentary vote expected last year.

The state council's department of legislation ‎revises the legal terminology of the law as well as its constitutional stance.

After the government approves the law’s final draft, it still has to be ratified by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who currently holds all legislative powers, until the new parliament is sworn in.

The state council's draft includes raising the number of constituencies to 237 instead of 232 as proposed by the government after dividing a number of constituencies, a judicial source told Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.

Several political parties and forces have already raised concerns about the draft passed by the government emphasising the need to verify a balanced and fair representation of seats in proportion to the number of voters in a given electoral district.

If these concerns are not addressed, critics feel that the legitimacy of the law will be disputed. 

Parliamentary elections are the third and final step in a political roadmap set forth after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi July 2013.