"President Hosni Mubarak will chair a meeting of the ruling National Democratic Party's political bureau within the next few hours", NDP Secretary-General Safwat el-Sherif announced Sunday.

The meeting will cover the main topics on the agenda of the NDP's 9th annual congress and a report by Sherif on the in-house elections that will be held in 7,555 NDP units across the country starting from next Saturday through September 10.

Sherif said that President Mubarak, in his capacity as the president of the party, is following up on a daily basis all preparations for the party's internal expansion elections held in line with the NDP statute which was endorsed during the 2002 8th annual congress.

Safwat el-Sherif announced on Sunday that the NDP's leading figures can start applying for the posts of the party unit secretaries across the nation for three days starting Sunday.

"The organizational secretariat has made available the application forms starting today", Sherif said, adding that this system is applied for the first time.

"Any secretary wishing to keep his post should also run for elections and fill the forms", he said.

Also, all party leading figures in villages that have the wish and ability should head to the sub supervisory committee in the affiliated division or Markaz to fill in the application for the post of a partisan unit secretary.

"Committees will be formed to review the application forms and interview candidates", he said, adding that all elections in the NDP are slated to be completed by October 3.