Ashri: Parliament Elections Legal, Constitutional; Validity Doubts Unfounded

Ashri: Parliament Elections Legal, Constitutional; Validity Doubts Unfounded

Mukhtar Ashri, President of the Legal Committee of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), denied any possibility of a judgment issued by the Supreme Administrative Court – referring a number of provisions of the Egyptian People’s Assembly Law to the Supreme Constitutional Court to adjudicate their constitutionality – to have an impact on the legitimacy or constitutionality of elections and or to threaten Parliament validity.


The constitutionality of the provisions in question are being considered now, because they did not limit the “individual” seats elections to independent candidates not belonging to any political parties, consequently allowing “party” candidates to compete with independents for seats allocated to them.


In a statement to Ikhwanweb, Ashri said that the Constitutional Court was the authority that originally indicated the need to have the election law exactly in that manner so as to safeguard its validity – this occurred in amending the election law. Ashri pointed out that the existing Constitutional Declaration is a Provisional Constitution, and the elections were held according to its terms, and that attempts to play with the Constitutional Declaration now are meant to destroy the political process that was based on it from the outset.


On the issue of party candidate racing for “individual” seats, Ashri said, "The election law allowed this in a perfectly appropriate interpretation and application of the provisions of the relevant law, since it made all candidates equal in the right to run”. Further, he added that the electoral process was in accordance with the law and the Constitution, allowing independents to run in the “party” candidate lists.


In conclusion, Ashri said, "Banning party candidates from racing for individual seats would have caused invalidity of Parliament, since there would have been a kind of discrimination and inequality among individual candidates".