Judge Mohamed Momtaz Metwally, a member of the Presidential Elections Commission, said Saturday that the commission has not set a date to continue its meeting to determine the eligible candidates for the presidency. The commission’s meeting was terminated abruptly Friday evening and the commission headquarters was handed over to the military police.
He added in a statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm that "the members of the commission have not been notified on the date of the new session," stressing that the commission had not yet decided on any of the presidential candidates.
The commission was scheduled to announce Saturday the names of the eligible candidates and notify those who are ineligible after studying the candidacy papers.
Supporters of presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail had gathered in front of the commission's headquarters on Friday night to protest the possibility of excluding him from the presidential race. They continued their sit-in until Abu Ismail called on them leave on Saturday morning.
The military police, led by Major General Hamdy Badein, surrounded the entrance of Al-Andalus Palace, the headquarters of the commission, with barbed wire, after the Abu Ismail supporters ended their sit-in on Saturday at 9 am.
Commission Secretary General Hatem Bagato returned to the headquarters of the commission and told Al-Masry Al-Youm, "The decision of the commission to withdraw from its headquarters and hand it over to the armed forces Friday evening came out of care for the lives of the 40 employees working there, and to express our rejection of Abu Ismail supporters’ actions."
"The committee, composed of Egypt's most senior judges from different judicial bodies cannot be subject to pressure or terror," said Bagato.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
