A Benha Administrative Court ruling against the Presidential Elections Commission does not mean that the presidential election slated for 23–24 May will be suspended, two judicial officials have said.
The court had ruled on Wednesday that the bylaw issued by the commission calling on voters to go to the polls is illegal.
The decision is expected to be overruled upon appeal in Cairo Thursday, according to a judicial source speaking to AFP. The source added that Tantawi, Egypt’s de facto president, delegated his powers to PEC chief Farouk Sultan.
Mohamed Hatem Amer, the head of the court that issued the ruling, told Al-Ahram Thursday that the ruling only invalidates and suspends the Presidential Election Commission's invitation for voters to go to the polls on those dates because, according to Article 56 of the Constitutional Declaration, only the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has the legal authority to issue such a call.
The commission has specific functions to carry out, but asking voters to go to the polls is not one, he added.
Magdy al-Garhy, vice president of the State Council, said Wednesday that the current legal standoff can be rectified if SCAF head Hussein Tantawi issues a statement with a similar invitation.
In a phone-in interview on privately owned CBC satellite channel, Garhy said Tantawi's invitation would eliminate the court’s justification for suspending the election, adding that the invitation to vote should be made before 23 May.
Garhy emphasized that the ruling in question does not annul any of the commission’s prior decisions, nor does it affect the approved candidacies of the 13 hopefuls competing in the race.
