File Photo: The Board of Trustees of Egypt s National Dialogue during a meeting. Photo courtesy of Egypt s National Dialogue.
This step is to ensure that the dialogue remains neutral towards all presidential candidates, the Board of Trustees said in a statement on Thursday.
Dialogue participants will be able to express their views on the election with "full freedom" and "without being affected by the course of the National Dialogue," the statement continued.
All participants in the dialogue represent various sectors within the country and therefore have, by their nature, independent perspectives on the election candidates, the board explained.
The National Dialogue – launched in May – was assembled by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to address Egypt's diverse political, economic and social public issues.
A set of recommendations from the first round of discussions was delivered to El-Sisi in August, with a new round launched in early September.
In a statement on Tuesday, the dialogue's Board of Trustees urged state bodies to maintain neutrality during the elections and safeguard candidates’ right to campaign freely.
The Egyptian National Election Authority will announce the schedule of the upcoming elections on Monday.
Six political figures, including a woman, have announced presidential campaigns.
El-Sisi, whose current term ends in 2024, has yet to declare his intent to run for a third term, although a host of political parties have urged him to do so.
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