By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Tatweer Misr breaks sales record in H1 2023
    Tatweer Misr breaks sales record in H1 2023
    September 25, 2023
    Real estate exports boost Egypt’s economy, Cityscape panel reveals
    Real estate exports boost Egypt’s economy, Cityscape panel reveals
    September 25, 2023
    SODIC reports 22% sales growth in 2023
    SODIC reports 22% sales growth in 2023
    September 25, 2023
    Huawei partners with Egypt to transfer modern technologies for digital transformation: Madkour
    Huawei partners with Egypt to transfer modern technologies for digital transformation: Madkour
    September 25, 2023
    HSBC plans climate tech funding push
    HSBC plans climate tech funding push
    September 25, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Presidential election in Egypt set for 10-12 December
    Presidential election in Egypt set for 10-12 December
    September 25, 2023
    Defence Minister meets NATO Military Committee chief
    Defence Minister meets NATO Military Committee chief
    September 25, 2023
    Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq discuss economic, political cooperation in New York
    Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq discuss economic, political cooperation in New York
    September 24, 2023
    Al-Sisi highlights opportunities for mutual benefit with China
    Al-Sisi highlights opportunities for mutual benefit with China
    September 24, 2023
    Egypt, India affirm their strategic partnership, discuss regional issues
    Egypt, India affirm their strategic partnership, discuss regional issues
    September 24, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    Microsoft Egypt aims to provide advanced AI models, build solid AI ecosystem: Mirna Arif
    Microsoft Egypt aims to provide advanced AI models, build solid AI ecosystem: Mirna Arif
    September 18, 2023
    I love privacy, and I am not concerned about competition: Yasmine Sabry
    I love privacy, and I am not concerned about competition: Yasmine Sabry
    September 14, 2023
    Sustainability, digital transformation at the heart of our strategy: Heidelberg Materials Egypt
    Sustainability, digital transformation at the heart of our strategy: Heidelberg Materials Egypt
    September 12, 2023
    India welcomes Egypt's BRICS membership: Boosting trade, investment, and access to strategic commodities
    India welcomes Egypt’s BRICS membership: Boosting trade, investment, and access to strategic commodities
    September 11, 2023
    The box office is not a measure of success: Basma Hassan
    The box office is not a measure of success: Basma
    September 6, 2023
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Newly amended parliamentary law awaits cabinet approval
Share
Notification
Latest News
Presidential election in Egypt set for 10-12 December
Presidential election in Egypt set for 10-12 December
Politics Egypt
Tatweer Misr breaks sales record in H1 2023
Tatweer Misr breaks sales record in H1 2023
Business
Real estate exports boost Egypt’s economy, Cityscape panel reveals
Real estate exports boost Egypt’s economy, Cityscape panel reveals
Business
SODIC reports 22% sales growth in 2023
SODIC reports 22% sales growth in 2023
Business
Huawei partners with Egypt to transfer modern technologies for digital transformation: Madkour
Huawei partners with Egypt to transfer modern technologies for digital transformation: Madkour
Business
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Egypt > Newly amended parliamentary law awaits cabinet approval
EgyptPolitics

Newly amended parliamentary law awaits cabinet approval

Amira El-Fekki
Last updated: 2015/04/15 at 3:33 PM
By Amira El-Fekki 7 Min Read
Share
The cabinet approved Saturday four laws required for parliamentary elections to be held. (AFP File Photo)
SHARE
The main issue from the government’s point of view was the flawed law distributing individual parliamentary seats over electoral districts.  (AFP File Photo)
The main issue from the government’s point of view was the flawed law distributing individual parliamentary seats over electoral districts.
(AFP File Photo)

The committee in charge of amending the parliamentary law under the supervision of Minister of Transitional Justice Ibrahim El-Heneidy presented its final draft to the cabinet for approval on Wednesday.

Over the course of three weeks, the committee, along with the cabinet, organised two meetings for social dialogue with representatives of different political parties.

“The government was not really serious about open discussions,” Maasoum Marzouk, member of the Popular Alliance Party under establishment told Daily News Egypt Wednesday. “It felt like [Prime Minister Ibrahim] Mehleb was doing all the talk and that the presence of politicians was not even necessary.”

This comes as Egypt’s parliamentary elections are back on the table after being interrupted for a month and a half by the annulment of the law dividing electoral districts. The law’s annulment came in a decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court on 1 March.

Following the court order, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi granted the committee one month to adjust the law. This occurred amidst widespread controversy on the non-constitutionality of several articles in three laws organising Egypt’s political life.

The main issue from the government’s point of view was the flawed law distributing individual parliamentary seats over electoral districts. The number of elected individual seats in the initial law issued by the president was 420 out of the total 567 seats.

The committee increased those seats to 442, whilst allocating a total of 120 elected seats to the closed-list systems, dividing the country into four main electoral districts.

Unlike the state, political parties saw further problems that would lead, in their opinion, to an unbalanced and unrepresentative parliament. They argued that this would give less space for political entities to the advantage of powerful and wealthier candidates, mainly politicians from the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

Most importantly, politicians sought a reform in the electoral system itself, demanding the inclusion of representative lists. Nonetheless, Al-Wafd Party Deputy Assistant Safir Nour said their demands were ignored by the committee, which only invited them to discussion towards the deadline.

However, politicians did not express a desire to object the law about to be issued, despite not being satisfied with it. In fact, Nour described attempts of appealing the upcoming law before court “childish acts aimed at obstructing the electoral process”.

Meanwhile, heads and representatives of more than ten political parties participated in an open discussion and press conference Wednesday organised by Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights hosting the International Observation Mission of the elections.

Given parliamentary elections will take place in unstable political and security conditions, discussions mainly revolved around increasing terrorism and counterterrorism efforts and its effects on the electoral process.

In general, politicians agreed that ongoing deadly attacks on security officers and citizens will not prevent parliamentary elections from happening. However, they shared different opinions on what causes terrorism and extremism to grow and more effective strategies to combat it, such as improving media rhetoric that they considered “insightful to violence”.

According to Maat’s observatory report, there have been over 1,000 incidents of violence during the first quarter of 2015. These include the targeting of civilians, police and military personnel, public institutions and facilities, universities and schools, judges and courts, and houses of worship.

Nonetheless, Marzouk believes that terrorism is a result, not a cause, of the current political situation, which is based on centralised power. “There is also an exaggeration in the security speech which ends in restrictions on freedoms earned by the people through blood during the 25 January revolution,” he said.

Mohamed Sami, president of Al-Karama Party, agreed on the idea that narratives of emergency security situations aimed at annulling democratic systems is going to fail both counterterrorism efforts and effective democratic transition.

“I completely oppose this approach,” Sami stated in a press conference Wednesday. “In my opinion, the more democracy is enhanced by social participation and dialogue, the better the confrontation of terrorism.”

Sami, along with several others, denounced the fact that the youth will “barely” have space in the upcoming parliament, explaining that their chances do not exceed 4% of the total seats. “Most young members think the parliamentary law is a joke and are inclined towards boycotting the elections,” Sami said.

Believing that boycott is an indication of their passivism, Sami said that if the state continues to exclude the young sector from the decision-making process, they would have no other resorts than extremism and violence.

Ahmed Bahaa El-Din, president of the Egyptian Socialist Party, spoke of other practices he considered types of ‘terrorism’.

“When hundreds of factory workers organise a strike because they have not been paid in ten months, they come with barrels full of gas ready to attack out of desperation. They are dispersed and arrested, then thrown in prison. This is terrorism,” he said.

“When the State uses the Protest Law to oppress freedom of expression, bans political participation and jails young activists, this is once more terrorism,” Bahaa El-Din added. He explained that an atmosphere where there is social injustice and absence of the poor’s rights, it becomes “favourable” to terrorism.

“I think the state should rush measures related to such issues just as they were able to provide wealthy foreign investors with facilitations ahead of the Economic Summit,” he concluded in his speech at the conference.

Some parties also expressed concerns on the monitoring operations of expenses spent on electoral campaigns and whether there would be restrictions on those campaigns’ work with the public. Parliamentary elections remain a controversial debate between state legislators and politicians.

You Might Also Like

Presidential election in Egypt set for 10-12 December

Defence Minister meets NATO Military Committee chief

Health Minister orders probe into New Cairo Hospital violations

Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq discuss economic, political cooperation in New York

Al-Sisi highlights opportunities for mutual benefit with China

TAGGED: Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, candidates, constitution, controversial law, Daily News, Daily News Egypt, debate, DNE, Electoral Districts, electoral system, individual seats, maat foundation, parliament, parliamentary elections, political party, politicians, seats, unconstitutional, voting
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
By Amira El-Fekki
Journalist in DNE's politics section, focusing on human rights, laws and legislations, press freedom, among other local political issues.
Previous Article 2 dead, 4 injured in Kafr Al-Sheikh explosion
Next Article Religious Endowments Ministry to form anti-atheism awareness groups
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image
Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

Presidential election in Egypt set for 10-12 December
Presidential election in Egypt set for 10-12 December
Politics Egypt
Tatweer Misr breaks sales record in H1 2023
Tatweer Misr breaks sales record in H1 2023
Business
Real estate exports boost Egypt’s economy, Cityscape panel reveals
Real estate exports boost Egypt’s economy, Cityscape panel reveals
Business
SODIC reports 22% sales growth in 2023
SODIC reports 22% sales growth in 2023
Business
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?