Moussa can still run, despite new Egyptian law

After Islamist parliament passed amendment, army asks Supreme Court to rule on its constitutionality; thousands gather in Tahrir.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa 311 R (photo credit: Abd El Ghany / Reuters)
Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa 311 R
(photo credit: Abd El Ghany / Reuters)
A senior official in the Egyptian courts said Friday that former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa would not be barred from running for office by the amendment to the political rights law that aims to bar former regime figures, according to the English-language new website The Egyptian Independent.  The Assembly of the Egyptian parliament recently passed the law.
The law is especially popular among Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, whose political arm is the majority in Egypt's new parliament, which passed the law. On Friday, thousands of Egyptian gathered in Tahrir Square calling for national unity, with many also calling for the implementation of this initiative.
After the amendment was passed by the Islamist-controlled parliament earlier this month, the army's ruling military council requested the Supreme Constitutional Court to rule on its constitutionality.
If the amendment stands judicial scrutiny, it would strip anyone who served as vice president or prime minister during the last ten years of Mubarak’s reign, which ended February 11, 2011, of certain political rights, such as standing for office.
The law would also bind individuals who served as president or secretary general of the National Democratic Party or held membership in various executive bodeis of the party according to the report.
Between 1991-2001, Moussa was foreign minister. In 2001, he became the Arab League's secretary general, a post he held until 2011.
The Supreme Constitutional Court will rule on the amendment within 15 days, the judicial official said during a phone interview with Al-Hayat satellite channel Thursday. If the court holds the amendment constitutional, former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq will be disqualified from the presidential race, the report said.
Because Supreme Constitutional Court member Maher al-Beheri and court head Farouk Sultan are members of the Presidential Elections Commission, they have announced that they will not take part in ruling on the amendment.