African Union's PSC rejects monitoring Egypt's elections

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council rejected the union’s participation in monitoring the upcoming presidential elections in Egypt.

The PSC recommended Monday that the AU does not dispatch observers to the presidential elections scheduled for May 26-27 in Egypt, Anadolu news agency reported.

The PSC explained that the nomination of former Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi violates the charter of the AU, because “he led a coup against a legitimate government and ousted an elected president.”

The PSC recommendation contradicts with statements by the chairwoman of the AU commission who recently said that Egypt will regain its membership in the AU after a new government is elected.

The Egyptian government invited local and international observers to take part in monitoring the upcoming presidential elections, vowing to hold “free and fair elections”.

The PSC suspended Egypt’s membership in the AU on July 5 following the military coup against President Mohamed Morsi.