Egypt court declares part of election law unconstitutional

Judge Anwar Rashad al-Assi, second right, reads the verdict in a courtroom of the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 1, 2015. The court on Sunday ruled as unconstitutional a clause in the election law that draws voting districts, a verdict that is almost certain to delay parliamentary elections scheduled to start later this month. Egypt has not had an elected legislature since 2012, when the same court ruled that the lower chamber was not constitutionally elected. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

An Egyptian court has ruled as unconstitutional a clause in the election law that draws voting districts.

The Supreme Constitutional Court’s decision on Sunday could be used as grounds for delaying parliamentary elections due to start later this month and continue until May.

Egypt has not had an elected legislature since 2012, when the same court ruled that the lower chamber was not constitutionally elected.

The forthcoming election is the third and final step in a road map announced by then-military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi when he ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsy in July 2013.

The first two steps were the adoption of a new constitution by referendum in 2014 and a presidential election that was comfortably won by el-Sissi later that year.