Egypt's top court rejects articles in draft election law

Cairo, February 19, 2013: Egypt High Constitutional Court (HCC), the top court of the country, on Monday declared five articles of a draft election law as unconstitutional and sent the text back to the Shura Council for redrafting, in a move that may delay a parliamentary poll due in April.

The law, drafted by the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, which is currently endowed with legislative powers following the dissolution of the People's Assembly in June 2012 was presented to the HCC for approval before which it must be ratified.

The law will be remanded to the Shura Council to look into amending the articles whose constitutionality has been questioned by the HCC, before presenting it to President Mohammed Mursi for ratification, Ahram online reported.

The People's Assembly (parliamentary lower house) was dissolved in 2012 by an HCC court order that rendered the law that elected that chamber unconstitutional.

The Shura Council has assumed full legislative powers on a temporary basis until the new House of Representatives (formerly called the People's Assembly) is elected.

The Shura Council will have to add amendments to the article before February 25. The Constitution stipulates that the law must be approved by the court within 45 days of it being passed by the Shura Council.

However, the court itself was put in a difficult position because new elections for the House of Representatives were supposed to have been held within 60 days of the Constitution's passage.

The Shura Council did not pass an elections law until the end of January.