DATE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ANNOUNCED; PROPOSED

UNCLAS CAIRO 004997

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM EG
SUBJECT: DATE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ANNOUNCED; PROPOSED
CHANGES TO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS LAW APPROVED

REF: CAIRO 4961

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: Egypt's 2005 presidential election,
according to senior presidential advisor Zakariyya Azmy, will
occur on September 7, and the new president is to be sworn in
on October 1. The People's Assembly (PA) approved changes in
five articles of the presidential elections law after its
Legislative Affairs Committee determined that the Supreme
Constitutional Court's June 29 advisory opinion (reftel) is
binding. Debate on two other articles, however, continues.
The date of September 7 for the presidential election is
earlier than most have anticipated and leaves just over three
weeks for presidential contenders to gear up for the
campaign's official start on July 19. End summary.


2. (SBU) According to Zakariyya Azmy, senior advisor to
President Mubarak, campaigning for presidential elections
will officially begin on July 19. The presidential elections
will be held on September 7, with a run-off on September 18,
if necessary. The new president is to be sworn in on
October 1.


3. (SBU) Per reftel, the Supreme Constitutional Court on
June 29 advised PA Speaker Fathy Surour in a memorandum that
Articles 5, 22, 49, 54, and 55 of the presidential elections
law were unconstitutional and that Articles 13 and 18 were of
questionable constitutionality. In a session later that day,
the PA approved changes to Articles 5, 13, 18, 22, and 49,
while tabling debate on Articles 54 and 55. Specifically:

a) the PA revised Article 5, which addresses the formation of
the Presidential Election Committee and describes leadership
succession of the Committee should the chairman be absent;

b) the PA also revised Article 13, which the Court's memo
cautioned may be unconstitutional, to specify the exact
supporting documents a candidate would need to include as
part of the election nomination request submitted to the
Presidential Election Committee;

c) in Article 18, which the Court's memo also cautioned may
be unconstitutional, the PA modified the language to ensure
procedural fairness among remaining candidates, should a
candidate decide to drop out of the presidential race;

d) the PA eliminated Article 22, which prohibited electoral
campaigns from using paid advertisements;

e) and the PA amended Article 49 by striking a harsh
financial penalty for candidates who exceed the campaign
expenditure limit or spend from accounts other than those
earmarked for the presidential elections.


4. (SBU) Articles 54 and 55, declared unconstitutional by
the Court, stipulate penalties for violation of the election
process. Within these two articles, the Supreme
Constitutional Court reasoned that punishment is for acts
that are not specifically and clearly defined. After
unresolved debate over these two articles, PA Speaker Surour
decided to table further debate over the articles until the
following day.


5. (SBU) Comment: That the PA opted to take seriously the
Supreme Constitutional Court's non-mandatory advisory opinion
on the constitutionality of the presidential elections law is
a positive development, yet probably has more to do with the
PA's desire to avoid any post-electoral challenges to the
constitutionality of the law than it does with formulating
sweeping and substantive changes to the draft. The date of
September 7 for the presidential election is earlier than
most anticipated and leaves just over three weeks for
presidential contenders to gear up for the official campaign
period. End comment.


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