News

Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) is expected to look into the constitutionality of three laws regulating the country's parliamentary elections on Wednesday, in a ruling that could delay voting set to start on 21 March.

March's parliamentary elections are the third and final step in a political roadmap set forth by the Egyptian army following the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, after a vote to ratify the constitution in January 2014 and presidential elections in June 2014.

Renowned activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who faces trial alongside 24 others, was sentenced to five years of maximum security prison by a Cairo court on Monday, in his retrial for charges of illegal assembly.

Osama al-Mahdy, Abdel Fattah's lawyer said today's verdict is considered a preliminary one, since the initial verdict was handed in absentia. 

"We will appeal at the Court of Cassation," he said, adding that this court will decide whether to uphold the verdict or order a retrial.  

Another defendant, Ahmed Abdel Rahman was handed the same prison term of five years.

The Supreme Constitutional Court’s Board of Commissioners determined on Saturday that several articles in the laws regulating parliamentary elections are unconstitutional, Ahram Arabic news website reported. 

The Board submitted its report the to 12-judge panel to rule.

The advisory board issued its recommendations report after reviewing six lawsuits brought against the House of Representative Law, Political Rights Law and Parliamentary Constituencies Law.

The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) will convene on Sunday to discuss the constitutionality of those laws. 

Leading officials of Egypt's political parties have said they are ‎doing their best to finalise the registration papers of ‎their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. ‎‎On Sunday, the Higher Elections Committee (HEC) ‎extended the window for parliamentary candidate ‎registration by two days — from 2pm Tuesday, 17 ‎February, to 7pm Thursday, 19 February.‎

Some had high hopes that the registration window ‎would remain open beyond Thursday so that party-‎based candidates could have more time to submit their ‎registration papers.‎

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and leaders of Egypt's mainstream political parties stressed in a meeting on Sunday that the country's long-delayed parliamentary polls must go ahead as scheduled next March.

The meeting came a few days after at least 30 people were killed in coordinated militant attacks on Thursday in the restive North Sinai governorate, including army personnel and civilians.

Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi has said that boycotting parliamentary elections will not help the political situation, Aswat Masriya reported on Friday.

Leftist politician Sabahi, who is the founder of the Egyptian Popular Current, said "boycotting the parliamentary elections shows weakness and does not help the current political situation."

Parliamentary polls are set to start mid-July as per the Egyptian constitution, passed on 18 January.

Egypt’s Islamists will face a tough test at parliamentary elections expected later this year amid growing public anger toward the Islamist trend and increasing inter-Islamist divisions following the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last July and the blacklisting of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Islamists can expect to win no more than one-third of seats at the next parliamentary elections, according to political experts, in contrast to the 70-percent majority secured by Islamist parties at the last elections.

En poco menos de un año, Abdelfatah al Sisi ha pasado de ser prácticamente un desconocido a convertirse en el hombre fuerte de Egipto. Desde el desalojo de los Hermanos Musulmanes del Gobierno, Al Sisi ha seguido a rajatabla y sin vacilaciones su particular hoja de ruta presentándose como un nuevo mesías que traerá la estabilidad y espantará el fantasma de la confrontación civil.