Shafiq goes to battle with prosecutor general

Daily News Egypt
2 Min Read
Former Prime Minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq has agreed to stay on as National Movement Party chief (AFP/File, Mohammed Abed)
Ahmed Shafiq. (AFP/File, Mohammed Abed)
Ahmed Shafiq. (AFP/File, Mohammed Abed)

Ahmed Shafiq’s supporters have submitted documents to the prosecutor general challenging the results of this year’s presidential election. On Monday, a judge reportedly rejected a request from the prosecutor general for access to Shafiq’s financial records.

Karim Bayoum, a member of the administration office of the New Egyptian Movement Party, said, “Shawky El-Sayed [Shafiq’s lawyer] submitted documents regarding the results of the presidential election results to the general prosecutor office.” The New Egyptian Movement is a recently created party of which Shafiq is both a founder and the most prominent member.

Bayoum would not disclose when or why the documents were submitted, but unconfirmed documents online show paperwork from the election committee with a vote tally that would have made Shafiq the winner.

A representative from the prosecutor general’s office confirmed that a complaint was filed on Monday on Shafiq’s behalf over the election results.

The prosecutor general was reportedly refused access to Shafiq’s financial records, according to a statement released on Monday by the Freedom and Justice Party, whose candidate Mohammed Morsy beat Shafiq in the election.

However, this is not out of order, said Assem Soliman, chairman of the Egyptian Centre for Transparency and Anti-corruption. “According to central bank law number 88 for the year 2003, no institution can look at these accounts or financial records for anyone because of privacy issues, except if they have a court order.”

In the general prosecutor’s case, he lacks the prerequisite court order.

Three members from the prosecutor general’s office were contacted and said they could not give information on the pending case.

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