Egypt election postponed after court ruling

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered a new election law to be formulated after a court in Cairo on Sunday declared part of the country's election law to be unconstitutional.

The court ruling led to Egypt's long-awaited parliamentary elections being postponed.

The Egyptian Higher Elections Committee delayed the vote in the wake of the court's decision, until after a legal review of the electoral law.

Sisi reportedly wants a new law formulated within a month, to avoid further delays to the poll.

The election was due to be held in the third week of March, until the Supreme Consitutional Court struck down an article dealing with defining voting districts.

"The court ruled that Article Three in Presidential Decree Law 202 for 2014 on dividing constituencies in the parliamentary election... was unconstitutional," said judge Anwar al-Asy.

'Unconstitutional'

Two other articles of the law - one regarding the "special status" afforded to women in parliament, and one limiting campaign expenditure - were also ruled unconstitutional.

The court recommended they simply be annulled, as this would not affect the ability to hold the election as scheduled.

Adly Mansour, Egypt's former interim president, has resigned from the court's special hearing over the case. Two of the three articles ruled unconstitutional were issued by him during his term in office in a bid to expedite elections-related legal cases.

Egypt's rulers had hoped the parliamentary election would draw a line under the coup against democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi.

Since Morsi was overthrown, Egypt's military leaders have wielded legislative authority, rolling back political freedoms and introducing business-friendly liberal economic reforms while fighting armed groups in the restive Sinai region.