Cairo: Egypt’s higher court Sunday ruled as unconstitutional an electoral law, a decision that has raised doubts that the country’s parliamentary polls planned for next month will go as scheduled.
The Supreme Constitutional Court said that the law on distribution of the nation’s electoral districts does not ensure equality for voters and candidates.
The Supreme Election Commission said it will hold an emergency meeting to ‘discuss the consequences of the ruling’.
Spokesman for the commission Omar Marwan said that the disputed law will have to be changed and then endorsed by the head of state before the elections can be held.
“Elections will be delayed until these stages are finalized,” Marwan added.
The court decision comes as a victory for the opposition, which has accused the government of issuing ‘faulty’ electoral regulations allegedly favouring wealthy parliamentary hopefuls.
Shortly after the verdict was issued, President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi ordered the government to amend the contested law in a month’s time to “ensure the holding of the parliamentary elections at the earliest possible time.”
“The president emphasizes the necessity of introducing the required legislative amendments to the laws regulating the election process,” the presidency said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the election commission said that the parliamentary vote will be held in two stages, beginning in late March and running through May.
Egypt has had no parliament since mid-2012 when the Supreme Court dissolved the legislature on technical grounds. Al Sissi, who took office in June last year, is holding the legislative authority until a new parliament is elected.
The parliamentary elections will be the last major step in a political roadmap declared in 2013 following the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi.
Egypt hoped to hold the polls as scheduled in order to project an image of stability after four years of unrest.
