All procedures and steps will be reset when Egypt is ready to hold the expected parliamentary elections, according to a Tuesday court decision. The court's decision also concluded that the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) must start from scratch. Following the government's final decision to suspend the elections, the State Council-affiliated Administrative Court cancelled all measures undertaken by the SEC ahead of the elections, including the call for elections starting 21 March. According to state-run news agency MENA, the court decision obligates the SEC to refund the EGP 3,000 insurance fees paid by candidates who registered for the elections. Candidates had also covered similar expenses related to medical tests requirements. The SEC is also re-updating the voters' database, as official spokesperson Omar Marwan called on citizens to revise changed addresses or legal statuses regarding the right to vote, MENA added. The parliamentary elections were postponed because of unconstitutional laws organising the division of electoral districts, issued by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Another article related to dual citizenship holders in the parliamentary law was also ruled non-constitutional. As a result, the electoral process has to start over once the laws are amended. Al-Sisi had set a one month deadline for laws to be amended following the verdict early in March.
