The councils, like other elected bodies in Egypt, were filled with members of Mubarak’s ruling party or his supporters who secured office during elections that were widely rigged during his rule from 1981 to February this year.
“The court issued a decision to dissolve local councils across the country,” Judge Kamal Al-Lamaei told a Cairo administrative court.
The case started a few months ago when a group of citizens asked the government to dissolve the local councils, saying they were riven with corruption. The government did not respond so they took their demand to an administrative court.
The court’s ruling is not final and the government can appeal the verdict before a higher court within 60 days.
Local Development Minister Mohsen El-Noumani said after the ruling was announced that his ministry would examine the verdict once the court’s full statement was released before taking any steps, the official news agency MENA reported.
Anger at widespread vote buying and ballot stuffing in a vote for the lower house last November helped fuel the mass pro-democracy demonstrations that brought down Mubarak. Transitional military rulers are preparing Egypt for free elections.
“This ruling is a test for the state. If the state quickly responds and says it accepts the verdict and calls for new elections for local councils, this could absorb some public anger,” said political analyst and professor Hassan Nafaa.
“But if it does not, it could make people more upset and give them even more reason to go out on July 8,” he added.
Activists are calling for a mass protest on July 8 to press demands for swifter reforms, including calls by some activists for the constitution to be rewritten before any elections.
New political groups are forming ahead of legislative elections set for September and the army generals have pledged a presidential vote before year-end.
Liberal activists want the September vote delayed, saying democratic values should be entrenched in a new constitution before an election.