Election Commission rejects Shafiq’s appeal against electoral fraud

The Presidential Election Commission rejected on Thursday an appeal filed by former presidential hopeful Ahmed Shafiq against the results of the 2012 presidential election, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

Shafiq alleged that there was electoral fraud in favor of former President Mohamed Morsi, who won the election with one million votes more than him in June 2012.

According to MENA, the Commission resorted to article 28 of the bill, making its decisions immune from judicial appeals.

Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister and a former Air Force general and aviation minister, filed several complaints alleging electoral fraud, including allegations that Coptic Christians in Upper Egypt were prevented from voting.

Shafiq claimed they were obstructed by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, due to their perceived support of him.

Supporters of Morsi started a large sit-in ahead of the elections commission’s announcement of the winner. Judges for Egypt, a group of judges informally affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, declared that their observations had indicated Morsi was the winner before an official announcement was made.

Immediately following the announcement that Morsi was elected president, Shafiq traveled to Dubai and has remained there since. He has however maintained a media presence, calling into to talk shows and giving statements to newspapers with greater frequency since Morsi was ousted. 

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