Egypt has given non-government organisations (NGOs) until 20 January to submit applications to be allowed to monitor the parliamentary elections.

Successful NGOs will receive permits between 4 February and 14 March, according to local reports.

Earlier in January, the Supreme Electoral Commission confirmed that the parliamentary elections will take place on 22-23 March.

The vote is the final stage of a political roadmap outlined by the transitional government brought in after the army ousted President Mohamed Mursi in early July 2013.

Supporters of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi are anticipated to dominate the election.

The forthcoming vote will be for members of Egypt’s main chamber of parliament, the House of Representatives, which was closed down in 2012.

President Mursi was removed from power before fresh parliamentary elections could take place.

At the beginning of 2014 the Egyptian people voted in a new constitution, which was followed by the presidential vote in May won by ex-army chief Al-Sisi.

In October 2014, the US-based NGO and election observer, the Carter Centre, closed its Egypt office and said it would not deploy an observation mission to assess the country’s parliamentary elections.

The organisation said that Egypt’s political environment has become “deeply polarised” and that the elections were “unlikely to advance a genuine democratic transition in Egypt”.