Presidential candidate Mostafa Moussa case adjourned to Feb. 17

CAIRO - 12 January 2018: The Supreme administrative court adjourned the case of presidential candidate Moussa Mostafa Moussa in which he faces the risk of exclusion from the elections race for not meeting the education eligibility standards.

Lawyer Tarek al-Awady impugned the validity of the candidacy of al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party chairperson Moussa Moustafa Moussa before the Supreme administrative court on Febuary 2, since he has not obtained a certified university or higher education degree, which is a key requirement for candidates running in the presidential election.

However, in the session scheduled for Monday February 12, the case was adjourned to February 17.

Deputy of State Lawsuits Authority Abdel Rahim Ali responded as the National Electoral Authority (NEA) representative in the court on Monday February 12 that the NEA confirmed from Mousa’s educational paper’s validity that he could run for presidency.

“All the conditions and requirements were met by Moussa. We examined his documents more than once and do not have any doubts about it,” Ali said in statements to media outlets on Monday.

He added that Musa’s final academic qualification is equivalent to Bachelor, which means that he meets the demanded requirements.

In statements to Egypt Today on February 2, lawyer Tarek al-Awady said that Mousa may not be running in the election over previous convictions and not meeting the education eligibility standards.

A few days earlier, Moussa announced that he obtained a foreign degree which has a value greater than any degree that can be obtained locally.

In his interview with the well-known anchor Wael el-Ebrashy for Al Ashera Masa’an (10 pm) TV program which airs daily on Dream TV, Mousa said that he holds an MA in architecture from a French university and said his degree has been already certified by the Foreign Ministry.

Awady told Egypt Today that the certificates he obtained were for courses he had taken in architecture from France in 1981 and was certified by the Foreign Ministry in 2010. “If that certificate amounts to be a proper equivalent of a higher education degree, he definitely would have used it since he obtained it, not 29 years later.”

He also added that the Supreme Administrative will expectedly issue its final decision in this regard within the next 10 days.

“Moreover, al-Ghad’s Moussa is not actually eligible to enjoy his civil rights, given the fact that he has been previously convicted of dishonorable offences, including robbery and the issuance of dud cheques.”

Additional reporting by Dunya Hassanin