CAIRO — Egypt’s parliament has passed a law barring senior officials of the former regime of Hosny Mubarak from competing in next month’s presidential election, state television reported yesterday. The law was adopted at an emergency session late on Thursday, despite warnings from the government that it may be unconstitutional.
Observers say the law is a direct response to a surprise presidential bid announced last week by Omar Suleiman, a former intelligence chief who also served as vice president for a few days before Mubarak’s overthrow. Under the new law, anyone who served as president, vice president or prime minister, as well as anyone who held leading posts in Mubarak’s now-disbanded National Democratic Party, are to be stripped of their political rights, including running in elections, for 10 years.
This means that Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, will also be barred from running for president. The law must now be endorsed by the country’s military rulers before it can take effect. Suleiman and Shafiq are among more than 20 candidates vying for the presidential polls, Egypt’s first since Mubarak’s toppling in February 2011.
