The Egyptian Administrative Court has issued decisions on parliamentary candidates on Monday, amid the legal procedures set by the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) for the upcoming elections. For nearly a week, the court has looked into parliament-related lawsuits, after which the SEC is supposed to declare the candidates. First, the court rejected a lawsuit filed by ‘Sahwet Misr' electoral coalition led by Mostafa Abdul-Gelil demanding the annulation of the Health Ministry's imposition of fees of medical examinations on candidates. Sahwet Misr had said that the medical checks directly affected their ability to participate in the elections and disrupted equal opportunities, demanding the decision and repercussions to be reversed. A top state-affiliated judicial committee report came in the group's favour, but the court opted for its refusal. The group is now officially not participating in parliamentary elections. Sahwet Misr members repeatedly told media that they were facing "pressure by top state security" for the benefit of endorsing another coalition, namely "In love of Egypt" (Fi Hob Misr). During its formation, the coalition was focused on selecting personalities more than political parties. It included candidates like political expert Amar Ali Hassan, human rights worker George Ishaq, constitutional professor Nour Farahat, and members from the Democratic Current parties. The court further looked into lawsuits appealing candidatures. The Free Egyptians Party (FEP) said that the court rejected a lawsuit demanding the banning of the party's candidates from the elections. It added that a member that FEP is mutually suing, for falsely claiming affiliation to FEP, filed the lawsuit. The court did not accept an appeal against FEP's candidate and sports man Zakaeya Nassef, filed by one of his competitors in the electoral constituency of Maadi in Cairo. The party had witnessed the withdrawal of some candidates and internal conflicts, but it has strongly invested in the elections, targeting individual parliamentary seats with 227 candidates, and joining the electoral lists of "In love of Egypt". Meanwhile, the Alexandria Administrative Court said it was not specialised in looking into parliamentary laws related matters, thus rejecting two lawsuits against the electoral constituencies law issued by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi last July, after amendments, state media Al-Ahram reported. Media further reported that in Mansoura, the court accepted 86 candidates on top of whom TV presenter Tawfik Okasha. Their applications had been rejected by the SEC for reasons such as drug substances in their blood revealed by required medical tests. Candidates were able to proof medical treatment though. Similarly, a verdict came to allow members of electoral coalitions "National Front Coalition" and "Tayyar Al-Istiqlal" to run for parliament on seats elected through the closed-lists system. Coalition member party Al-Geel's president Nagy El-Shehaby had accused the SEC of bias. On a different note, the court ordered that the SEC provides all candidates with a CD copy of the complete database of voters, following a lawsuit filed by Al-Tagammu Party candidate in Luxor Mohammed Al-Ashmawy. Electoral campaigns should start on 28 September, as elections of the first phase are to start on 17 October.
