Egypt's new president to be sworn in before judiciary after parliament dissolution: SPEC head
The new president of Egypt is to take the oath of office in front of the High Constitutional Court, according to a report by Al-Ahram daily newspaper on Saturday, quoting Farouk Sultan, the of the head of the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC).
The constitution's provisions state that the president's swearing-in ceremony takes place before both the lower and upper houses.
However, considering the High Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Thursday dissolving the People's Assembly (lower house), the coming president will take the oath in front of a judiciary body.
"Most probably the ruling military council will issue a new Constitutional Declaration that will define the authorities of the new president and would allow the elected head of state to take the oath of office in front of the highest judiciary body, as is the case in some other countries," Sultan speculated to the Arabic-language daily paper.
According to the SPEC head, the new Constitutional Declaration will only be valid until the new constitution is drafted.
Last week the parliament elected a 100-member constituent assembly to draft the first constitution after the ouster of the 84-year-old former president Mubarak, who is now serving a life sentence in prison.
After the constitutional court verdict was issued Thursday, however, the elected assembly is considered void and the new constitution will have to wait for the fait of its drafting assembly to be defined.
Reportedly, Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will form a new constituent assembly to replace the one that was dissolved. The first constituent assembly was appointed by a parliament dominated 70 per cent by Islamists; namely the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, and the Salafist’s Nour Party.
The first round of Egypt’s elections narrowed down the choices for president to two candidates. The runoff elections on Saturday and Sunday (16 and 17 June) will reveal whether Egypt’s new president will be Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, or the head of the FJP, Muhamed Mursi.
Ahram Online
Video
Spot Lights
AFPTurkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallies supporters after riot police again clash with thousands of anti-government demonstrators in a second week of nationwide unrest.Three people have died in the protests against Erdogan and his Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP), in power since 2002.Following are the main events of the past days:- May 28: A peaceful local protest
AFPTurkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing one of the biggest challenges of his decade in power with anti-government protests that critics say have exposed growing discontent with his increasingly authoritarian and conservative agenda.Here are the key events since Erdogan's Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) assumed power in the predominantly Muslim but staunchly
AHRAM ONLINEFounders of Egypt’s 'Rebel' campaign, a newly established movement that aims to withdraw confidence from President Mohamed Morsi by collecting citizens' signatures, spoke at an open forum on Wednesday to discuss the campaign, which has recently gone viral online and on the streets.'Rebel' campaigners hope to collect 15 million signatures and hold a mass sit-in on 30 June –
BBC SportWhen it's put to him that he might be the most talented athlete in the world to hold a racquet, a bashful Ramy Ashour admits "that's pretty great".The 25-year-old Egyptian is more than just the current squash world number one - his elastic, unorthodox brilliance and charisma could be the key to squash breaking out beyond its four walls and regaining a place on the wider sporting
