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Egyptian court says it lacks jurisdiction to suspend members of Mubarak's party from running in parliamentary election

September 1, 2014 at 1:01 pm

An Egyptian court ruled on Sunday that it lacks the proper jurisdiction to issue any ruling on a case to decide whether or not members of the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP), which was headed by ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, are allowed to run in elections, judicial sources told Anadolu news agency.

The court’s decision keeps the Court of Urgent Matters’ annulment of a ban effective, thus allowing NDP leaders to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The Supreme Administrative Court had initially issued a ruling on 16 May 2013 banning members of the dissolved NDP, which was the ruling party during the Mubarak era, from running in presidential and parliamentary elections. In addition, the party was dissolved and its assets were liquidated, all based on the demands of the 25 January revolution, which toppled the political regime and forced Mubarak to step down.

However, Court of Urgent Matters reversed this decision two months later in response to an appeal and the earlier ruling was annulled, allowing the NDP members to run for office. This move was strongly criticised by the supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, who described it as a reversal of the 25 January revolution.

According to legal sources, Sunday’s decision keeps the Court of Urgent Matters’ ruling in effect. In April of this year, the Court of Urgent Matters issued a ruling banning members of the Muslim Brotherhood from running in elections.

Egypt’s parliamentary elections are supposed to be held in the coming months, but a date has yet to be set. The elections will constitute the third step in the roadmap announced by former interim President Adly Mansour on 8 July 2013, after the military coup that ousted Morsi. The first step was the referendum on the constitution, which took place in mid-January, and the second step was the presidential election, which was held in late May.