Egyptian to the core

By Amira Howeidy
Ending months of debate and speculation over the issue of dual citizenship, the Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court have handed down three verdicts prohibiting Egyptians who hold dual citizenship from being members of parliament. The verdicts were hailed as historical by legal experts. The first, by the Administrative Court, applies to business magnate Rami Lakah, who holds a French passport in addition to his Egyptian nationality. The second and third, by the Supreme Administrative Court, went against Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Saleh, who was said to have forfeited Egyptian citizenship after gaining German nationality, and Talaat Mutawi', who holds American and Egyptian passports.
The verdicts are final and cannot be contested. But on Sunday, Interior Minister Habib El-Adli presented parliament with a document confirming that Saleh had recovered his Egyptian citizenship prior to the recent parliamentary elections. People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Surour sent the document to the House Legislative and Constitutional Committee to prepare a report on the issue. Surour, declaring that parliament is empowered by the constitution to decide on the legality of its members, said the committee would also prepare a report on Lakah's status. There was no mention of Mutawi'.
The three verdicts are expected to open the door to litigation on the membership of several other prominent deputies who also hold dual citizenship. Among those are Economy Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali, Minister of Housing Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman and businessman Mohamed Abul-Enein, who have American, Canadian and Italian passports, respectively.
The controversy over dual citizenship began on the eve of the parliamentary elections in October, when a candidate contested the credentials of his opponent and asked for his exclusion on the grounds that he had both Dutch and Egyptian nationalities. In response, the Supreme Administrative Court not only banned the candidate in question from running for election, but also ordered the removal of his name from the list of voters. Basing its decision on Article 90 of the Constitution, the court argued that "it cannot be imagined that the person who is required to look after the country's interest may share his loyalty to Egypt with another country." The ruling encouraged others to file similar appeals against prominent ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) candidates, including Ghali and Suleiman. However, the two presented the court with documents attesting that they did not hold a second nationality.
Yet the controversy continued on the pages of newspapers and on the screens of television. The popular Rai'is El-Tahrir (chief editor) fortnightly TV show once devoted half of its air time to discussing the issue. The arguments and counter-arguments only added to the confusion.
The verdicts of the Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court should bring the controversy to an end. They did not only affirm rejection of MPs carrying dual citizenship, but also elaborated on the reasons for this decision, using what legal experts described as strongly-worded language.
In all three verdicts, the courts argued that since Egyptians who carry other nationalities are exempt from military service and prohibited from enrolling in military and police academies in order to safeguard the security of the armed forces, it went without saying that their nomination for parliament may not be accepted on the same grounds.
Defining "citizenship," the courts said it was a bond between an individual and the state whose citizenship he carried and to which he bore loyalty. Consequently, and logically, they added, a person with citizenship ties to two countries had divided loyalties. Furthermore, they argued that a person who insisted on keeping a nationality beside his or her Egyptian one lacked full loyalty to Egypt because, legally, this person's national obligations were divided, some in favour of Egypt and others of a foreign country. Full loyalty to Egypt, its people, its soil and aspirations would be incomplete if it were shared with any other country. Becoming a member of parliament entailed absolute loyalty to Egypt, the courts said.
Law 26 for 1975 prohibits Egyptians from acquiring another nationality unless they surrender their Egyptian citizenship. However, it makes an exception of Egyptians who emigrated to other countries and settled there. "But if the Egyptian who has dual citizenship returns to Egypt, settles down and works here, then the cause for acquiring a foreign nationality becomes invalid," the law says.
The verdicts are consistent with other laws, such as law 45 for 1982, which prohibits Egyptians who work for the diplomatic corps from marrying foreigners, and law 232 for 1959, which also prohibits military officers from marrying foreigners.
Although the verdicts are final, they may be shrugged off by the NDP-dominated parliament, on the grounds that parliament is sovereign over its membership.
"The People's Assembly may not refrain from implementing the rulings if it uses this argument, but this is an irregularity because the verdicts of the Supreme Administrative Court must be applied," Tarek El-Bishri, the court's former deputy chairman, told Al-Ahram Weekly. The fact that the majority of the MPs who have dual citizenship are prominent and influential figures in the ruling party makes it even more unlikely that the rulings will be heeded by parliament.
Arming for a stormy session 28 Dec. 2000 - 3 Jan. 2001
Taking the poll to the courts 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000
Urgent matters 9 -15 November 2000
See Elections 2000
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