Egypt's Administrative Court on Wednesday evening issues ruling to suspend presidential elections set for 23 and 24 May, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic-language website. The court's decision comes in response to a case filed by lawyer Wael Bahgat, requesting the election's suspension based on questions regarding the legality of Article 1 of Egypt's presidential elections law. The court also announced that it has refered the hotly debated 'Disenfranchisement Law' -- along with Article 28 of the last year's constitutional declaration -- to Egypt's Supreme Counstitutional Court. Earlier Wednesday, the country's ruling military council affirmed in a statement that presidential elections will be held on time, after concerns arose about the postponement of the elections following the SPEC's announcement to suspend its activities Monday. Shortly afterwards, Egypt's Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) stated that it had received an official copy of the Administrative Court's decision overturning an earlier ruling by the commission to refer the "disenfranchisement law" – which bans Mubarak-era officials from holding political posts – to Egypt's Constitutional Court. The SPEC had earlier announced plans to resume its activity after having suspended it on Monday to protest perceived parliamentary interference in its affairs. Egypt's High Administrative Courtdeclared late Tuesday that the SPEC had no legal right to refer the disenfranchisement law to Egypt's Constitutional Court. The Administrative Court's statement comes after the court agreed on 25 April to look into the law's constitutionality. Mubarak-era minister Ahmed Shafiq was disqualified from Egypt's presidential elections on 26 April, after the disenfranchisement law was passed by Parliament and approved by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). One day later, however, the SPEC accepted an appeal lodged by Shafiq, allowing him to rejoin the presidential race – even though the law was still technically in place. Shafiq is currently the third most popular presidential candidate, according to three recent opinion polls.Ahmed Shafiq's campaign refrained from commenting on the Administrative Court's decision, stating merely that it would "abide by the SPEC's decision", according to campaign spokesperson Ahmed Sarhan. Egypt's first post-Mubarak presidential poll is slated for 23 and 24 May, with a runoff vote to be held on 16/17 June in the event that no single candidate wins an outright majority. Egypt's next president will be formally named on 21 June. Updates to follow shortly.
