The government will disband Egypt's local councils within two weeks, according to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's media adviser.
On Monday, Ahmed al-Samman told the satellite channel ONTV that earlier court verdicts had ordered the disbanding of the councils.
A member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Mamdouh Shahin, on Sunday said that dissolving local councils would require a court ruling.
During a National Accord Conference session currently held in Cairo, Shahin had said that the government would soon find a solution for the local councils issue.
His statement followed recommendations by conference attendees that municipal councils be disbanded immediately. The attendees argued that those councils have acted as major hotbeds of corruption.
Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court is currently considering a lawsuit by Muhktar Hany, a lawyer and member of Qalyubiya Governorate local council. The lawsuit demands the council be dissolved nationwide.
In his petition, Hany argued that local councils lost their legitimacy following the 25 January revolution, and he added that 99 percent of their staffs are former National Democratic Party members.
The NDP, which ruled Egypt under former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, was disbanded by a court ruling over charges of spoiling political life.
