(AFP File Photo)
The Supreme Elections Committee (SEC) stated it would announce its decision on an appeal submitted by the runner up in last year’s presidential elections challenging the procedures under which the elections were held on Wednesday.
The SEC held a hearing on Tuesday to consider former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq’s appeal, alleging that widespread fraud had occurred, affecting the outcome of Egypt’s first democratic presidential elections.
During Tuesday’s hearing Shafiq’s lawyer requested the testimonies of Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and former Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Sami Anan, and to examine an allegation that Kuwait had given the Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party 110 million Kuwaiti dinars during the run-offs for presidential elections, according to Aswat Masriya.
Gamal Gibril, a member of President Mohamed Morsi’s legal advisory team, was denied entry into the hearing, according to state-owned Al-Ahram. The elections law requires the presence of the lawyer of the appellant only.
Shafiq’s lawyer Shawqi Al-Sayed appealed the results of the election on 21 May, requesting the commission examine the allegations and rule the election results invalid. Earlier this week, the SEC said it would consider the appeal.
The appeal seemingly went against Article 28 of March 2011’s constitutional declaration, which states, “The commission’s decisions are final and carry the full force of the law, and will not be subject to objections from any party, in the same manner as it is forbidden for the decisions to be stopped or cancelled.”
