The head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda III, has given directives to prevent Coptic parliamentary candidates from using churches for their electoral campaigns.
The pope called on Coptic candidates not to mix religion with politics or use religious slogans in their campaigns for the parliamentary elections set to start on 28 November.
The number of Christian nominees for the People's Assembly and Shura Council elections in Alexandria currently stands at 19, Coptic activist Karim Kamal told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
In 22 October, independent daily Al-Fagr quoted Mamdouh Nakhla, another Coptic activist, as saying that Copts are increasingly inclined to abstain from participating in elections either as candidates or as voters.
Nakhla predicted that the rate of Coptic candidacy in the polls will not exceed 10 percent, saying that the nominees might decide to run on lists backed by liberal parties, such as the Free Egyptians Party.
Before the January uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak, many parliamentary candidates held their electoral campaigns in places of worship.
The state usually allowed nominees from the former ruling National Democratic Party to take every step possible to run their campaigns.
The use of religious facilities was notable during the vote on constitutional amendments in March, especially by Islamist groups that urged voters to support the amendments.
