Egypt’s Presidential Elections Commission Issues Regulations For Upcoming Polls
Egypt’s Presidential Elections Commission (PEC), the judicial body tasked with supervising Egypt’s upcoming presidential elections, has issued the executive regulations for a newly issued law governing the polls.
The 55-article regulations define the procedures of the PEC’s meetings and the application documents required from hopeful candidates, among other matters.
According to article 15, those wishing to run in the elections should be able to apply to the PEC over a period between 10 and 30 days.
Article 17 states that applicants must provide 13 documents, including a certificate showing either the successful completion of military service or exemption from conscription, along with a statement that the applicant, his/her parents and spouse hold only Egyptian nationality.
The candidate should also hand in a medical report – from a medical entity to be later specified by the PEC – stating that he/she is in condition to uphold all presidential commitments if elected.
Article 44 shows that the PEC has not yet decided several election day logistics.
The article specifies procedures to ensure the elections’ integrity “if” the elections are held on more than one day, signaling that more decisions are to be announced later by the PEC.
Article 55 states that the election results are to be announced within five days after all the results from different polling stations are delivered to the PEC.
No set dates were announced by the PEC in the 55 articles.
However, Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour said last week that the presidential elections were to end before 17 July.
The law regulating the upcoming presidential elections was issued by Mansour earlier this month.
The law includes the controversial article 7, which makes PEC’s decisions immune to appeals by other judicial bodies.
Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabbahi is the only potential candidate who has announced his intention to apply with the PEC once the door for applications opens. Sabbahi, who finished third in the 2012 presidential race, says he will run in this year’s polls despite criticising the elections law as “unconstitutional.”
Egypt’s army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is expected to resign from his post as defence minister and announce his bid for the country’s presidency, which he is slated to win by an overwhelming majority.
Source : Ahram
