Egypt: Supreme Court Maintains Shafiq’s Candidacy For President
The Egyptian judiciary rejected on Thursday a law prohibiting the pillars of the former Mubarak regime to stand for elections. If the law was accepted it would invalidate the candidacy of former PM Ahmad Shafiq who will face the Islamist Mohammed Morsi in the second round of presidential elections this weekend.
The ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court declared Thursday, two days before the second round. The defense team of Mr. Shafiq, quoted by MENA news agency, has branded the law “selective and vindictive”, calling it a “dangerous precedent”.
“The court ruled unconstitutional certain sections of the election law,” the agency added.
This law was adopted in April by the newly elected Parliament, which is dominated by Islamists and ratified by the ruling Military Council. But the Election Commission decided to refer the law to the High Constitutional Court, which eventually allowed Mr. Shafiq to run for president.
The electoral commission had originally invalidated the candidacy of Mr. Shafiq because of this law but then accepted an appeal filed by the candidate and decided to approach to the Constitutional Court.
A provision of that legislation prohibits “any president, vice president, prime minister, chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP, Mr. Mubarak’s party) now dissolved, secretary or member of its politburo” to exercise political rights for ten years . This law called “political isolation” refers to persons who held one of these positions during the ten years preceding February 11, 2011, the date of Mubarak’s resignation under pressure of the popular revolt against him.
Former commander of the Air Force and Civil Aviation Minister under Mubarak, Shafiq had been appointed to head the government just before the departure of former president.
