Presidential finalist Ahmed Shafiq's electoral prospects were bolstered by Thursday's controversial High Constitutional Court rulings, Egyptian experts say.

According to Omar Ashour, political science professor at the UK's Exeter University, the rulings – which call for the dissolution of parliament and allow Shafiq to contest the presidency – have positively served the latter's campaign.

Egyptian political analyst Hazem Mounir agreed, saying the constitutional court verdicts were likely to tip the electoral balance in the favour of the ousted president's last prime minister and away from Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi.

"Shafiq has a better chance after the rulings," said Mounir. "What's more, public confidence in Shafiq has also increased due to his strong campaigning in the days leading up to the runoff vote."

Political sociologist Said Sadek voiced similar sentiments."The court rulings serve Shafiq; if there is high voter turnout, his chances will increase, while a low turnout is likely to benefit Morsi," Sadek told Ahram Online.

According to Sadek, many female and Christian voters – who entertain serious reservations about the Brotherhood and its stance on certain civil liberties issues – were particularly happy with Thursday's verdicts.

"Women prefer to go back 50 years with Shafiq rather than five centuries back with Morsi," Sadek asserted. He went on to say that the Brotherhood's perceived monopolisation of Egypt's post-revolution political stage – both in parliament and in the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution – had served to alienate many secularists.

On Thursday afternoon, Egypt's High Constitutional Court declared Egypt's Political Disenfranchisement Law – which had threatened Shafiq with disqualification from the presidential race – to be unconstitutional. The ruling will allow Shafiq to contest the presidency against Morsi in a runoff vote slated for Saturday and Sunday.

A second ruling, meanwhile, found Egypt's Parliamentary Elections Law – which regulated last year's legislative polls – to be similarly unconstitutional. The verdict means that both the People's Assembly and the consultative Shura Council (the lower and upper houses of Egypt's parliament) will likely be dissolved in advance of fresh elections.  

Analysts also voice concerns about the potential for vote-rigging in the upcoming runoff in light of the new political equation. "Today's ruling makes electoral fraud much more likely," said Ashour.

Sadek concurred, saying: "Egypt's electoral system is flawed and unreliable; the fact that there is no database, or access to the voting system, highlights the possibility for corruption and vote rigging."

Ultimately, however, the presidential contest will be largely decided by Egyptian voters' choice between a civil and religious state.

"Even though I don't like him at all, I'll vote for Shafiq – simply because I oppose a religious state," said Mounir.

The Muslim Brotherhood, for its part, nevertheless appears confident in their candidate's victory.

"We're still confident that Egyptians will vote for Morsi and stand against counter-revolutionary candidate Shafiq," Dina Zakaraya, member of the Brotherhood's foreign relations committee, told Ahram Online.