Egypt court to decide parliamentary elections’ fate

Egypt’s highest court will determine next week whether the laws regulating the country’s parliamentary elections are constitutional, threatening to further delay the vote scheduled for next month.

The Supreme Constitutional Court heard Wednesday the arguments of lawyers contesting the legality of the laws governing the electoral process on grounds that they violate Egypt’s principle of fair representation. Judge Anwar Rashad al-Assi said the court will make a rule this coming Sunday.

The legislative elections are due to begin on March 21, with phases running until May 7.

The parliamentary elections are the last phase in Egypt’s transitional plan, which was put in effect following the July 2013 military ouster of the country’s first democratically elected president, Islamist Mohammed Morsi, after mass protests against him.

— AP