Hala Shukrallah, the first woman and Copt elected to head an Egyptian political party (Photo: AP)
Hala Shukrallah announced Friday that her term as leader of Egypt's Constitution Party is officially over.
When she was elected in 2014, Shukrallah, the first Coptic woman to be elected as leader of an Egyptian party, said she would stay in her position for one year, during which she would draft new bylaws for the party.
In a Friday vote, 69.6 percent of party members rejected the suggested amendments to the party bylaws. Shukrallah praised the voting process and announced her role as party leader was over.
"When Shukrallah was elected, the party was going through a critical period after the resignation of [former leader] Mohamed ElBaradei," party spokesman Khaled Daoud told Ahram Online.
"Shukrallah was hoping to make a smooth handover by ending her time as party leader with new bylaws. But unfortunately the newly proposed bylaws were voted down."
This would leave the party with the old bylaws, said Daoud, under which new elections will take place on 8 May.
The Constitution Party is also to hold a general meeting on the same day to discuss the party's bylaws.
ElBaradei founded the Constitution Party in 2012.
Shukrallah was born in 1954.
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