Muslim Brotherhood Statement on Constitutionality of Disenfranchisement Law Decision

Muslim Brotherhood Statement on Constitutionality of Disenfranchisement Law Decision

The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) issued a decision, on Thursday, ruling unconstitutional the law of political isolation (the disenfranchisement law), which effectively means that General Ahmed Shafiq stays in the presidential race, and that parliament’s attempt to disqualify him as one of the pillars of the old corrupt despotic regime did not succeed.


This naturally means that we have only one option to defeat the old guard General which is popular isolation, through the ballot box.

Meanwhile, a look at the Egyptian scene reveals that the above decision was announced at the same time with another that rules unconstitutional some articles of parliamentary law, and yet another decision – by the interim Minister of Justice – to grant low-ranking military intelligence and military police officers and noncommissioned officers powers to arrest and detain civilians.

This is effectively a militarization of the State, which in turn means we are embarking on hard and dangerous days; perhaps more dangerous than the last days of Mubarak’s rule.

It also means that all the gains of the revolution for democratic change are being squandered by military coup handing over power to one of the most prominent symbols of the despotic former regime, who affirmed in a well-known and very public statement that the former president is his role model, and that "There has not been any revolution" and pledges to quell peaceful demonstrations using military police forces.

This imposes on us a patriotic duty to join hands together to prevent the return of the former regime. This requires that all fifty million voters turn out to cast their ballots in the presidential election, to isolate the representative of the former regime through the ballot box, and to protect the electoral process against fraud attempts.

Moreover, it means there is no room for calls to boycott the election, because that would help revive the defunct regime with all its evil tyranny and repression, which will take brutal revenge against the revolution and the revolutionaries.

No-one should at all be fooled by General Shafiq’s rosy promises. We did try, and we did hear the gentle words of all former regime senior officials, of freedom, democracy and social justice, and yet at the same time we suffered all manner of humiliation, repression, pure terror, oppression, injustice and corruption.

In these dire circumstances, no-one should allow disagreements with the Muslim Brotherhood, or its presidential candidate, to stop them from doing the right thing. The situation is gravely dangerous, and the future is in serious peril. Now, disputes and division would certainly threaten the entire homeland and the people, the revolution and the revolutionaries.

The Muslim Brotherhood

Cairo: June 14, 2012