CAIRO: Calls to implement the political exclusion law and Treachery Act will have “negative implications for the country’s political freedoms and upcoming election,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
“The new authorities have a legitimate interest in excluding corrupt and abusive former officials from determining Egypt’s future, but passing a law that will invite arbitrary exclusion is no way to go,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW.
Political groups have called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to implement the political exclusion law, which would ban remnants of the toppled regime from political participation for 10 years, and amend the Treachery Act to strip officials proven guilty of political corruption of their right to practice politics for five years.
“Exclusion from voting rights needs to be on the basis of conviction after a fair trial for clear and specific crimes, not vague allegations of political corruption,” Stork added.
He said that any law that singles people out for punishment solely on the basis of group affiliation instead of individual actions is “a big problem.”
The implementation of an exclusion law that would ban members of the former regime from political participation was among the top demands of the Democratic Alliance, a coalition of 34 political parties, when they met with SCAF.
Concerns about remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party running for elections mounted, especially with the registration for the parliamentary elections earlier this month.
“These people are responsible for ruining the political life in Egypt and they were the reason people went out on the street during the uprising, we can’t allow them to come back,” said Tarek Al-Malt, official spokesperson of Al-Wasat Party and a candidate in Beni Suef.
Al-Malt pointed out that that in context of the current dire economic conditions, candidates could sway voters with money.
“Having these corrupt individuals in the political arena will help spread bribery and thuggery during the elections and afterwards,” he explained.
Yasser Al-Hawary, spokesperson of Youth for Justice and Freedom movement, which fielded seven candidates running on the Revolution Youth Coalition list, strongly agreed.
“How could those who people revolted against be allowed to come back and rule? This is completely against the principles of the revolution,” he said.
HRW pointed out that as a member of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Egypt is obligated to allow its citizens equal opportunity to compete as candidates in elections without being subject to “unreasonable restrictions.”
“Egypt’s military and the caretaker Cabinet should at the very least do no harm in this transitional period and ensure that new laws are in line with international law,” said Stork. “Adding repressive laws to those already on the books is only an extra burden on Egypt’s transition,” he pointed out.
The international watchdog provided three recommendations for the Egyptian government on the matter of the exclusion law and Treachery Act.
It suggested that Egypt refrain from basing judgments on eligibility solely on past or present associations. It also urged Egypt to establish the opportunity for an individual facing such charges to be provided with the evidence against him or her and to obtain a fair hearing on such charges before an impartial tribunal.
Finally, HRW recommended establishing accountability measures for past crimes of corruption or involvement in human rights abuses through a transitional justice process that comprehensively addresses longstanding abusive practices in a transparent and fair manner.
