Egypt High Elections Committee Secretariat-General Announced

The President of the High Elections Committee (HEC) and the head of the Cairo Court of Appeals, Chancellor Ayman Abbas, issued a decision on Tuesday to form a secretariat general, comprised of 28 members representing the judiciary, public prosecutors, and various ministries and stakeholders in the electoral process for Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

On July 15, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued presidential decree No. 23, forming the HEC. Presidential spokesperson Ihab Badawy said the decree was based on Egypt’s January 2014 Constitution, Law No. 46 of 1972 on the judiciary, Law No. 45 of 2014 on the exercise of political rights, proposals by the justice minister, and the approval of the Supreme Judicial Council and the State Council.

Law No. 45 of 2014 says that the HEC must be chaired by the president of the Cairo Court of Appeals and must include the two most senior vice-presidents of the Court of Cassation, the two most senior vice-presidents of the State Council and the two most senior presidents of the courts of appeal. The law also says that the supreme councils of judicial bodies will choose an alternate member for each member of the committee based on seniority.

In a statement following Abbas’ announcement, the HEC spokesperson, Medhat Idris, said that the secretariat will include 17 members of the judiciary and public prosecutors, two members of the State Council, three members of the Administrative Prosecution Authority, one member from the State Litigation Authority, three members from the ministry of planning, one member from the ministry of interior, and one member from the ministry of communications.

Those appointed to the Secretariat include:

  • Nasr al-Din Badrawi, Assistant Minister of Justice
  • Ali Mohamed Imran, Assistant Attorney General and Director of Judicial Inspection
  • Mohamed Ibrahim al-Saadany, Vice President of the Court of Cassation
  • Mohamed Abdel Latif Youssef, Vice President of the State Council
  • Hossam Habib, Secretary-General of the Administrative Prosecution Authority
  • Abdel Salam Mahmoud Abdel Salam, State Litigation Authority
  • Tarek Saad Hassan, Representative of the Ministry of Planning
  • Raafat Abdel-Aziz Hindi, Representative of the Ministry of Communications
  • Major General Sayed Maher, Director of the General Elections Administration at the Ministry of Interior

As director of general elections administration in the ministry of interior, Maher oversees electoral commissions. In a recent interview, prior to Egypt’s presidential elections, Maher, speaking about preparations for the elections, explained that the role of the General Elections Administration is to provide logistical support both in preparation for and during elections. He also said that the ministry was prepared to defy efforts to disrupt Egypt’s presidential elections and that a number of security measures were being put in place by the ministry in coordination with security directorates.

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Image: Photo: Ahmed Abdel-Fatah