Egypt: MB Candidates Denied Candidacy In Spite of Court Ruling

The Qalyoubeya, north of Egypt, Manpower Directorate refused to abide by the ruling issued by the Administrative Judiciary Court allowing MB candidates to stand for the Trade Union election.

The officials within the directorate refused to receive the court ruling under the pretext that the official in charge of the election isn’t in office. Wael Tootoo, the candidates’ lawyer, said that the defense team, 15 in number, as well as 10 of the candidates, will stage a sit in until the official in charge of the election comes back and receives the candidates’ papers, adding that the officials there threatened them of detentions.

The Administrative Judiciary Court earlier Tuesday November 7, 2006, overturned the decision made by the election panel excluding 13 of the MB candidates to the Trade Union election slated Wednesday.

The court ordered that the names of those candidates be re included on the election lists, but the security agencies have pressured the government offices and the syndicate committees to deny the MB candidates and their supporters access to candidacy to the syndicate committees’ boards of directors.

They didn’t stop at this, but they used as many ways and means as they could, including threats of sacking anyone who just asks for candidacy papers, as was the case with the Arab Company for Chinaware, where no worker applied for the candidacy due to the threats announced by the company’s board chairman.