Ayman Nour, head of the Ghad al-Thawra Party, submitted an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court on Monday, challenging a first instance court ruling that disqualified him from running in the presidential election.
The earlier ruling said that those who were sentenced for a crime but were not granted full amnesty or remission may not practice their political rights, whether voting or running for president or Parliament, even if they were pardoned of punishment or consequential punishment.
On Saturday, the Egyptian Administrative Court issued a ruling that Nour is not eligible to run for president, also asking that Nour’s recent pardon be revoked. Justice Abdul Salam al-Nagar, vice-president of the Council of State and president of the court, said that because Nour did not serve a complete sentence and was not rehabilitated post-sentence, he does not have the political right to run for president.
On Sunday, Nour said that the court ruling is invalid and contains unprecedented legal errors. He vowed to appeal the ruling and continue his run for president.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, recently restored Nour’s full political rights, which had been suspended as the result of a forgery conviction in 2005.
Nour came second in the 2005 election, Egypt's first multi-candidate race for the presidency, after former President Hosni Mubarak.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
