Court ruling jeopardizes Egypt polls timetable

Egypt's constitutional court yesterday ruled that parts of the law organising parliamentary elections starting March 21 violate the charter, in a decision that may force a delay.

The administrative court, which rules on state related matters, will now decide whether to formally rule on delaying the election.

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President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered that the law be redrafted within a month and asked that "legal measures be undertaken to avoid delaying" the election, his office said.

The constitutional court said sections of the law dividing the electoral districts were unconstitutional.

Lawyers who appealed against the law had said it failed to divide districts in a way that would adequately represent the electorate.

One of the lawyers told AFP that the ruling meant the election will be delayed and the process will start from scratch.

Former constitutional court judge Tahany al-Gebaly told AFP it was not immediately clear whether the poll would be pushed back or for how long. The law may be amended in time for the election to start on schedule, but if candidates have to register again it would be delayed, she said.

The election, currently set to be held between March 21 and May 7, would be the first since army chief Sisi overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

After Morsi's ouster, Sisi announced plans for a new constitution, to be followed by presidential and parliamentary elections. The new charter was adopted in January 2014 and Sisi elected president in May.

The upcoming election is to be held under a complex system that is supposed to produce a representative parliament. Twenty-seven of the assembly's 567 seats are to be filled directly by the president, with the rest contested through party lists or on an individual basis.

The elections are important to Sisi as he seeks to shore up his standing in the eyes of Western governments that condemned his overthrow of Morsi.