CAIRO – 4 September 2023: Egypt’s National Dialogue resumed its sessions on Sunday for the 6th week, starting with the political parties Committee which is included within the political axis of the dialogue. Further sessions of both of the economic and social axes are expected to be held later this week on Tuesday and Thursday.
The political committee held a session titled: “the political parties’ law, merge policies, party alliances, the role of parties committee, as well as financial and administrative governance”, with a wide-participation of experts and officials representing multiple spectra of the society.
Political Parties’ role
Participants of the National Dialogue’s session of the political track said that the inactivated role of political parties poses major challenges for Egypt’s political life.
They said that parties represent communication channels with people, hence their role should be activated.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Constitutional and Legislative affairs Lawmaker Ibrahim el Henedy reviewed a set of proposals on promoting the authorities and entitlements of the parties’ affairs committee at the Court of Cassation.
He called for amending article no. 8 of the political parties’ law in order to enable the committee to make an objection against forming a party.
Henedy, also, called for amending the first paragraph of article no. 17 to grant the committee further authority to allow it to freeze the activities of parties – in some cases- till they settle their status within a period doesn’t exceeding a year.
Member of parliament Ehab el Tamawy, the rapporteur of the National Dialogue's Political Parties Committee said the committee seeks to restore the role of political parties within the new republic, through hearing all opinions and suggestions offered by all participants.
Tamawy made the remarks during his participation in the political committee session on Sunday.
He added that the committee welcomes all proposals as long as they conform with the constitution, asserting the participants in the dialogue's political track have a shared responsibility for reaching the recommendations that can be implemented in reality.
On his part, Khaled Dawood, the committee's assistant rapporteur, expressed hope the final recommendations will show the genuine desire to restore the role of political parties and apply constitutional articles stipulating that the political life should be based on the multi-party regime.
Freedom of expression
“Freedom of opinion, expression and access to information are constitutional entitlements that need the establishment of ethical, social, legal and national frameworks to preserve the safety of society,” participants in the Human Rights and Public Liberties Committee of the National Dialogue said Sunday.
Member of the National Council for Human Rights Moushira Khattab said the right to freedom of expression is linked to the right to obtain information and the right of journalists to get protection.
Freedom of opinion, expression, and access to information is a constitutional entitlement. Laws complementary to the constitution must be issued in this regard, she added.
Head of the Media Syndicate and Senate member Tarek Saada said that the Egyptian Constitution established several articles stipulating freedom of opinion and expression.
Freedom of opinion is an inherent right, but under several controls, including boundaries separating freedom from chaos, he added
The sixth session meetings of the National Dialogue's political track kicked off Sunday at Cairo International Convention Center in Nasr City.
The National Dialogue's Board of Trustees has agreed primarily to convene the sessions on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday of each week, with a predetermined schedule for each track, namely the political, economic and the social one.
Up to four sessions could be held within the same day, the duration of each is set for three hours.
Previous recommendations
Earlier in August, the National Dialogue released a report summarizing the recommendations and outcomes of 13 committees covering different areas, including politics, economics, and society.
The announced recommendations were discussed over the past period during the committees’ discussion sessions.
The issued report reflects the final conclusions of the committees after holding specialized sessions to develop the proposals, the Coordinating Committee said in a statement.
he National Dialogue's Municipalities Committee, under the political axis, has reached a consensus on the urgent need to pass the Local People's Councils Law and hold their elections promptly.
The committee also agreed on using a combination of the absolute closed list by 75% and the incomplete proportional list by 25% as the electoral system for the local people's councils.
The participants also recommend reviewing laws to provide more significant representation for workers and farmers who wish to run for local council positions and examining the status of cities in newly-developed urban communities to ensure that residents there have the right to fairly and transparently elect local council members. This will help ensure good governance and accountability, the report read.
The Municipalities Committee also called for providing mechanisms and measures to local people's councils, including the formation of participatory planning committees, to allow citizens to participate in planning and managing projects and facilities in their communities.
The attendees also reached a consensus to offer practical and professional training to members of the local people's councils. This will enable young leaders to participate in council elections in the future. Additionally, a comprehensive definition of the council's roles and responsibilities will be developed, and effective oversight mechanisms will be put in place. Specific controls, such as questioning and interrogation, will also be implemented to ensure accountability among council members.
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