Also complicating things is the timeline laid out by the new constitution: “Article 229 states that procedures for parliamentary elections must begin with sixty days of the ratification of the new constitution,” according to Ghad al-Thawra MP Mohamed Mohieddin. Debate has arisen over whether parliamentary elections will have to be delayed or not, depending on how quickly the Shura Council is able to make changes to the articles in question. Mamdouh Ramzi, member of the constitutional and legislative committee for the Shura Council, said that debating and making the necessary changes to the law would take at least 45 days, and stressed that elections could not be held beforehand.
Anonymous sources in the Shura Council told Al-Watan newspaper Tuesday that the Shura legislative committee was working on amending some of the articles according to SCC suggestions today, and that amendments could be brought to the Council for
Sources
“SCC puts legislators in quandary over election law,” Egypt Independent (English), 2/18/13.
“Sources: Legislative Committee finishing with amendments to elections law after objections from the SCC,” Al-Watan (Arabic), 2/19/13.
“Election disaster…SCC: Law is not constitutional and confusion in the Shura,” Al-Watan (Arabic), 2/19/13.
“Ratification of Egypt’s new elections law could take 45 days: Official,” Ahram Online (English), 2/18/13.
A Closer Look at SCC Ruling
The SCC report labeled a number of articles unconstitutional, one of which deals with “worker” and “farmer” representatives and the ability of an MP to switch from one designation to the other after being elected. The law says that representatives of workers and farmers would be stripped of parliamentary membership for changing designations, but MPs who change political affiliations after the elections would not be punished. According to the SCC report, “this cuts short the right of citizens to freely elect their deputies in accordance with Article 55 of the constitution.”
The report also said that electoral districts must be withdrawn to represent citizens in accordance with Article 113 of the constitution; Muslim Brotherhood MPs rejected redistricting during earlier debate over the law, saying it was too time consuming. The report also took issue with the election law’s handling of the issue of political disenfranchisement, arguing that former National Democratic Party members should only be barred from electoral participation if they served in both the 2005 and 2010 parliaments—the law states that NDP deputies… who were members in “any” of the two pre-revolution houses of parliament must be stripped of their political rights.”
The report said that articles granting Egyptian diplomats, instead of judges, authority over supervising expat voting are unconstitutional. The SCC also ruled that part of the law which gives Egyptians who had not served in the military the right to run in elections unconstitutional, and that there must be amendments granting the Supreme Elections Commission total authority to supervise and monitor elections, starting with “the opening of the candidacy registration period and end[ing] with the announcement of the final vote results.”
The SCC also stated the law must also be amended to allow licensed civil society organizations and the media to participate in polling supervision, and that it must be amended to grant the SEC all the necessary tools to ensure voters could not cast multiple ballots.
Sources
“SCC returns election draft law to Shura Council,” Daily News Egypt (English), 2/18/13.
“SCC declares five articles of election law unconstitutional,” Egypt Independent (English), 2/18/13.
“Draft electoral laws contradict Egypt’s national charter: Constitutional Court,” Ahram Online (English), 2/18/13.
“Erian: Shura Council has ‘a lot of work’ ahead,” Egypt Independent (English), 2/19/13.
“649,000 Egyptian expats registered in elections database,” Egypt Independent (English), 2/17/13.