Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court has issued a ruling requiring Minister of Information Anas al-Fiqi to allocate broadcasting time on state-run Egyptian television to all political parties in order to allow them to present their election platforms.
The Administrative Court said in its ruling that it has accepted an appeal submitted by political opponents against a previous ruling that rejected a lawsuit calling for air time for all political parties, as controlling air time is contrary to Article 8 of the Egyptian constitution, the law regarding political parties and the principle of equity provided for in the constitution. The court added that the Egyptian constitution does not restrict media freedom as it is state-owned or state controlled, and officials are not entitled to prevent political parties from broadcasting their platforms on the state-run satellite.