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| Africa North | ||
| Egypt cancels April 22 legislative vote | ||
| 2013-03-07 | ||
Judge Abdel Meguid al-Moqanen said Islamist President Mohamed Morsi had ratified a new electoral law for the country last month without sending it to the Supreme Constitutional Court for its approval, as required by the constitution. Consequently, the administrative court referred the law to the constitutional court and cancelled MursiÂ’s decree calling for elections. The law was issued by the Senate, which has been acting as a legislative body since a previous court ruling abolished the lower house of parliament in June over constitutional issues. The Senate sent it to the constitutional court, which returned it after rejecting several articles. The Senate then amended the law, but never sent it back for final approval. This puts Morsi, who ratified the law despite that fact, in an uncomfortable position. He has repeatedly insisted that elections would usher in stability,
The election had been scheduled to take place in four stages over two months. Egypt’s main opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front, had already announced it would boycott the vote — expressing doubts over its transparency — and demanded a new electoral law. The gulf between the ruling Islamists and the opposition has been growing wider since November, when Mursi issued a decree expanding his powers. The decree was repealed after intense street pressure, but only after a controversial Islamist-drafted constitution was rushed through. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |