According to former president of the State Council, Hamed El-Gamal, at least one billion EGP could go to waste if the government proceeds with the parliamentary elections, despite legal challenges to the elections laws and the division of electoral districts. El-Gamal argued that parliament elections should be annulled or postponed during this period. "If the court proceeds with the elections amid the current situation, the next parliament will be constantly threatened with dissolution due to its flawed basis," El-Gamal said in comments to Daily News Egypt. El-Gamal believes the most controversial law is the one issued last December by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi regarding the division of constituencies. The division was based on the state's project to redraw the borders of some governorates, even though a law which defines those borders was not officially passed by the state. Meanwhile, the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) had stated that the court has 20 days to issue decisions on all legal appeals filed regarding the non-constitutionality of political laws. The deadline was due Wednesday, but the Supreme Constitutional Court moved the date and set the deadline to Sunday. Furthermore, the Administrative Court, which is in charge of looking into appeals on or by candidates regarding their nomination for the elections, was also supposed to issue a final verdict Wednesday but pushed it to Sunday. The postponement was caused by a setback in the registration procedures as SEC extended the deadline for candidates to complete their application by two days. As a result of closing candidate registration on 19 February instead of 17 February, the names of the approved candidates by SEC were announced Tuesday, later than expected, which also contributed to further postponing court appeals. The Supreme Constitutional Court will give its final say on the matter Sunday. In case the court rules the non-constitutionality of parliamentary laws, elections will have to be postponed until amendments are made and included and the entire process will start over.
