US embassy cable - 05CAIRO4997

UNCLAS CAIRO 004997 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, PHUM, EG, Elections 
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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http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
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