Judge delays vote in Egypt
The electoral law, called unfair by critics, is referred to the nation’s highest court.
TRIPOLI, Libya — Egypt slipped further into political disarray Wednesday when a judge suspended upcoming parliamentary elections and referred the country’s muchcriticized electoral law to the nation’s highest court.
An administrative judge struck down a decree by Islamist President Mohamed Morsi for staggered elections for the lower house of parliament slated to begin April 22. The court, citing concerns over the recently amended electoral charter, asked the Supreme Constitutional Court to review the law.
The ruling appeared likely to delay the elections and highlighted the struggle between Morsi and the largely secular opposition. The opposition has vowed to boycott the poll amid accusations the electoral law favors Islamists. It also said elections should not be held while Egypt is gripped by deadly protests and deepening political rancor.
The Supreme Constitutional Court in February found that provisions in the electoral law were unconstitutional.
The upper house of parliament, which is controlled by Islamists, amended the text and passed it on to Morsi, who approved it. The administrative court ruled Wednesday that the upper house should have returned the law to the Constitutional Court for review.
A Morsi spokesman told Egyptian news media that the president will appeal the decision on the grounds that the executive decree cannot be overturned by a judge. The spokesman said, however, that the upper house should have sent the revised law back to the high court.
The legal maneuvering comes amid weeks of protests and civil disobedience, most notably in the city of Port Said along the Suez Canal. Six people, including three policemen, have died in clashes there over the last week. That furor is heightened by the government’s failure to rescue a beleaguered economy marred by plunging foreign reserves.
Morsi has accused the opposition of instigating demonstrations to mask its inability to win elections against better organized Islamists. But months of unrest and stalled politics have strained his credibility.
Morsi has pressed for parliamentary elections to advance the political transition two years after the overthrow of secular autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The president’s critics, however, said the Muslim Brotherhood is seeking to exploit the country’s chaos to give Islamists control of the parliament.