Egypt's government expressed its respect for the Administrative Court ruling that dissolved local councils. Dr. Ahmed al-Saman, the media consultant for Egypt's prime minister, confirmed that the government respects judicial rulings and works towards achieving the interests of Egyptian citizens. Minister of Local Development Mohsen al-Nomani said the ministry will study and examine the ruling and take legal measures to either execute the ruling, or to appeal it. He refused to confirm whether he would create public committees to replace the local councils or not. Adel Helal, the chairman of 6th of October City's local council, described the ruling as historic, saying the councils had been suspended since the January 25 Revolution. He said the decision will not affect the governorates, particularly because these councils lacked a serious role. He added that the governor is the only decision maker in the governorate; the local councils couldn't make any decisions without the governor's approval. Helal demanded the Minister of Local Development not to appeal the ruling, which satisfied on of the Revolution's demands. Ahmed Zaki Abdeen, the governor of Kafr al-Sheikh, said he will execute the rule. He will discuss the matter with Prime Minister Sharaf and al-Nomani during the meeting of the Council of Governors, and find an alternative entity to replace the councils. Maher al-Damatty, the governor of Beni Suef, said he will wait for governmental orders as to whether he should form public committees to replace the dissolved councils. He said some councils may appeal the ruling. Amar Ali Hassan, a researcher and political analyst, praised the decision, describing it as a wonderful extension of the decision to dissolve the former National Democratic Party (NDP). He said the local councils were a result of rigged elections. He said the councils has been preparing for remnants of the NDP to run in the parliamentary elections. Hassan added that today's judicial ruling came in response to the Revolution's demands to cleanse the country of the former regime. He called on Egyptian citizens with evidence against the members of local councils to give them to the public prosecution. Hussein Abdel-Razek, an official in the Unionist Party, described the decision as logical, but late. He said the decision was supposed to coincide with the decision to dissolve the NDP. He demanded the rulers of the country to dissolve the councils, which were a main source of corruption during the former regime. Dr. Hassan Nafaa demanded the government execute the ruling. He stressed that the country needs to hold free and fair local elections. He described the ruling as one of the January 25 Revolution's gains. Dr. Ali Abdel-Aziz, an official in the shadow government of the revolution youth, said dissolving local councils was one of the revolution's demands. He described the Administrative Court's decision as an important step in removing the figures of the former regime. Abdel-Aziz demanded that members of the dissolved NDP be prevented from entering politics for at least five years, because they were partners to those who corrupted the country for decades.
