An Egyptian court on Tuesday suspended the March 21 parliamentary elections, the first ballot since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013, days after the Supreme Constitutional Court declared “unconstitutional” part of an election law.
The Administrative Court headed by Judge Yahia Dakrouri, ordered the Election Commission to halt all election preparations and asked them to set a new date for the vote.
The decision came days after the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) ruled that an article in the law organising parliamentary elections is unconstitutional.
“Article 3 of the Law 202 for the year 2014 which regulates the individual seats system for the House of Representatives is unconstitutional,” SCC Judge Anwar Al-Aasy ruled last Sunday.
After the court ruling, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on the government to amend laws related to the March-April parliamentary poll within one month.
The first parliamentary election since the overthrow of Morsi by military in 2013, was scheduled to begin in phases from March 21. Egypt has been without its main parliament chamber since 2012 when it was dissolved by a court ruling.
The elections are the final step of a transitional roadmap outlined by the military in July 2013 after the overthrow of Morsi.
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, considered a terrorist organisation under the new Egyptian dispensation, had swept the 2013 elections that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak.