Egypt

Shura passes amended rights bill to SCC

The Shura Council referred an amended version of the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights to the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) on Sunday.

The new draft includes recommendations made by the SCC on 25 May.

According to the modified draft, Egypt's High Elections Commission will be the only body able to call for elections 60 days before the polls open.

On 25 May, the SCC submitted remarks on the political rights draft, adding further recommendations to a proposed bill on parliamentary elections.

The submissions recommended granting army and police officers the right to vote, which sparked conflicting reactions from politicians and members of the public alike. 

During the Sunday session, MP Maged al-Helw said Egypt's Constitution does not legally define the organisation responsible for calling an election, meanwhile suggesting this detail should be subject to constitutional amendment.

Al-Helw was supported by Essam al-Erian, another MP and deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party. "There are no holy texts except for the Holy Quran," Erian argued.

Assistant Defense Minister Mamdouh Shahin meanwhile suggested the armed forces had not been surprised by the court's decision to hand voting rights to military members, adding that the army is waiting for "the right time" to implement it.

Parliamentary elections were previously scheduled for late April before an administrative court ruled in March against President Mohamed Morsy’s call for the vote.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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