Egypt to dissolve local councils controlled by former regime members

Egypt to dissolve local councils controlled by former regime members

2011-06-29 00:14:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO, EGYPT (BNO NEWS) -- An Egyptian administrative court on Tuesday issued an order to dissolve local councils across the country which are controlled by members of the former ruling party, the Ahram newspaper reported.

Egypt has about 1750 local councils nationwide which are regarded as another tool used by the former regime led by Hosni Mubarak to maintain the tight control on the North African nation.

Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has been ruling the country since the January Revolution, could appeal the court's order but it voiced support towards it and vowed to implement the dissolution.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sharaf will hold a meeting with governors to discuss the implications of the court's ruling, mostly in regards to the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Since former ruler Mubarak was ousted, at least 10 lawsuits have been filed in the administrative court to dissolve local councils as 98 percent of them were controlled by members of Mubarak's former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

The leaders of the pro-democracy movements have been pressuring the SCAF to dissolve the councils since the end of the January 25 Revolution. They claimed the local councils are "Egypt's largest hotbeds of corruption and the only remaining bodies dominated by NDP officials."

Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, stepped down after weeks of anti-government protests calling for greater democracy and respect of human rights. Afterwards, the SCAF took control of the country.

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