The Administrative Court on Saturday rejected a lawsuit filed by Misr Al-Qawia Party challenging interim President Adly Mansour’s amendment to the political participation law.
In its ruling the court said that Mansour’s amendment was in accordance with the law governing the exercise of political rights, according to state-owned Al-Ahram. It added that the amendment was constitutional, maintaining that voters living could vote in governorates outside their electoral district with a valid identification card.
In a press statement on Sunday following the decision, made by the court in a special hearing on Sunday, Misr Al-Qawia said it would appeal the ruling.
Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh’s party opposed an amendment Mansour made to the elections law on 6 January, allowing people living outside their governorates to vote in polling stations outside of their electoral districts in the constitutional referendum that is scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The party said it believed that the amendment would allow for “manipulation” and the “repetition of voting at more than one polling station”.
“It greatly affects the integrity of the electoral process, especially given the lack of modern technology needed to implement it,” said the party in a previous statement.
Minister of the Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said in a press conference on Thursday that the cabinet would provide harsher punishments for those who abuse the newly-issued decree by voting more than once, “lest the Brotherhood use it as an excuse to claim that vote-rigging occurred”.
The party had officially said it would support a No vote in the referendum. However, after party members were arrested for hanging “no to the constitution” posters, it said it would revisit its position and consider boycotting the poll.
