Egypt court annuls election results in dozens of districts

Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court has annulled the results of parliamentary elections in dozens of individual districts, in one of the most sweeping interventions in a decade.

The rulings, issued early Sunday, invalidated outcomes in 26 additional districts from the first voting phase, raising the total number of annulled constituencies to 45 out of 70.

The court’s decisions followed an extensive review of appeal files, reports by the State Commissioners Authority, and materials submitted by the National Elections Authority (NEA). The appeals were described as the "largest" in years, with the court receiving between 251 and 259 challenges in the days after results were announced.

Presided over by Osama Youssef Shalabi, the Supreme Administrative Court concluded that the violations cited in the appeals were “fundamental” and compromised the integrity of the electoral process across numerous districts. These included key constituencies in Giza, Minya, Luxor, Sohag, Beheira, Assyut and Fayoum.

The rulings require that elections be entirely reorganised in the affected districts, voiding certificates of victory previously granted to candidates. The seats will remain vacant until the NEA schedules new voting rounds.

The latest developments come amid an openly escalating dispute between judicial bodies and the NEA. The authority had earlier annulled results in 19 districts, citing irregularities in sorting and aggregation reports, the absence of candidates’ representatives inside committees, and inconsistencies in the final results.

That decision sparked a wave of statements between the Judges Club of Egypt, the Administrative Prosecution Counselors Club and the State Lawsuits Authority, with each body assigning responsibility for what they described as a lack of proper organisation and oversight.

The tensions arise against the backdrop of constitutional amendments that suspended full judicial supervision of polling committees.

Appeals heard by the court also pointed to widespread use of political money, vote-buying, and a lack of effective oversight over campaign financing. Committees were criticised for failing to document violations. Rights advocates said the scale of the cancellations indicates a “structural flaw” rather than isolated errors.

The NEA has attempted to frame the court decisions as “evidence of respect for the law,” but the breadth of the annulments and the diversity of the violations cited have increased pressure on the authority to reassess how it organises and manages elections.

The rulings now force candidates and parties in the affected governorates to rerun campaigns and prepare for new voting rounds. Political actors are waiting for the NEA to release a timetable for completing the electoral process.

The court’s decisions once again cast uncertainty over the legitimacy of the incoming parliament and the broader political environment in which the elections were held.