Lawsuit calls for illegalizing parties that boycotted elections

CAIRO - 30 March 2018: Assistant Secretary General of the political party of Egypt 2000, Mahmoud Abo el-Leil, filed a lawsuit to the Administrative Court of the State Council demanding the suspension of political parties that boycotted the elections.

He also demanded that any person holding a public office to be deprived of assuming leadership positions if he or she is found to have boycotted the elections.

On Wednesday, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi won the presidential election by a landslide.

Following the withdrawal of the leftist human rights activist and lawyer Khaled Ali, the recently-formed Civil Democratic Movement held a press conference and announced that they would boycott the presidential election.

“The election became more of a referendum than an election,” spokesperson of the Civil Democratic Movement, Khaled Dawood, told Egypt Today, explaining the reasons of the boycott calls.

Other potential candidates who announced that they would run in the election all bowed out, except for former Military Staff Chief Samy Anan who was kept out of the race by the Armed Forces which released a statement regarding his disqualification.

Shortly after, Ali announced his withdrawal.

Also, former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik was amongst the prominent potential candidates that made public his intention to run for president in the 2018 election before he abruptly changed his mind and announced his withdrawal from the race.

On January 26, two days after President Sisi submitted his candidacy papers to the National Election Authority, the President of al-Wafd Party announced his intention to run in the 2018 election before his party came out in unanimous support to President Sisi.

President of Al Ghad (Tomorrow) party, Moussa Moustafa Moussa, submitted his candidacy papers on January 29, 2018.