Egypt’s Supreme Presidential Election Commission (SPEC) announced on April 17 its final decision to disqualify ten candidates from the presidential race, including the Salafi candidate Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Leader Khairat El-Shater and Mubarak’s former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

PROTESTS:

1) 34 parties and political movements (including the January 25 coalition, the National Association for Change and the Adl Party) have called for a mass demonstration on Friday, April 20, under the slogan “No to Writing the Constitution Under Military Rule.” The protest also calls for canceling Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration, which grants the Supreme Presidential Election Commission immunity against challenges to its decisions. The groups’ joint statement also accused the Muslim Brotherhood of allying with the military and “dragging the revolution backwards.” [al-Masry al-Youm, English, 4/18/2012] [al-Masry al-Youm, Arabic, 4/18/2012] [al-Shorouk, Arabic, 4/18/2012]

ELECTIONS:

2) Egypt’s Supreme Presidential Election Commission (SPEC) announced on April 17 its final decision to disqualify ten candidates from the presidential race, including the Salafi candidate Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Leader Khairat El-Shater and Mubarak’s former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. [al-Ahram, English, 4/18/2012]

3) Shortly after the SPEC’s ruling, the Muslim Brotherhood and the FJP issued a joint statement condemning the decision and confirming that Mohamed Morsi (nominated as an alternate) would be the Brotherhood’s official candidate: “The Muslim Brotherhood and the FJP are astonished at the rejection of Khairat El-Shater’s appeal and the decision to exclude him from the race despite the presentation of documents that prove he received a rehabilitation from the military court.”  The head of the Brotherhood’s legal committee condemned the decision as “a scandalous political plan.” [al-Ahram, English, 4/18/2012] [al-Ahram, English, 4/18/2012]

NGO TRIAL:

4) The Cairo Criminal Court decided on April 18 to postpone the trial of NGO workers accused of operating illegally until June 5. The trial was adjourned following a request from defense lawyers to check the material evidence obtained by the court during the April 18 court session, including laptops, CDs, projectors, maps, graphs, safes and documents confiscated when Egyptian security forces raided the offices of accused NGOs last year. [al-Masry al-Youm, English, 4/18/2012] [al-Shorouk, Arabic, 4/18/2012]

PARLIAMENT:

5) A People’s Assembly committee has approved in principle a bill that would grant comprehensive amnesty to people suspected or convicted of political charges under Hosni Mubarak’s rule. The draft pardon,  proposed by MP Amer Abdel Rahim of Jama’a al-Islamiya’s Construction and Development Party , would apply to convictions handed down between 6 October 1981 — the date of Anwar al-Sadat’s assassination — and 11 February 2011, when Mubarak resigned.  [al-Masry al-Youm, English, 4/18/2012]

Photo Credit: Getty

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