MP Bakry calls for reforming Shura Council

CAIRO - 13 August 2017: A parliamentarian at the House of Representatives calls for modifying the current Egyptian constitution, as well as reforming the Shura (Consultative) Council.

Parliamentarian Mostafa Bakry, said in a statement to Egypt Today, that the current constitution needs amendments, however, it is necessary to conduct a social dialogue with the people, political forces and civil society forces to reach a clear vision for these amendments before opening the file for discussion in the parliament.

Bakry also pointed out towards the importance of reforming the Shura Council, noting that “its cancellation was a mistake.”

On the article of the constitution that tackles the period of the President’s term, Bakry noted that any talks about amending this article could “raise a great deal of controversy and crises, which we don’t need at the present time," he said.

The Shura Council was created in 1980 through a Constitutional Amendment during the ruling era of Anwar Sadat. In 2013, the 50-member committee to amend suspended 2012 constitution issued a decision to abolish the Shura Council, after 42 years of its existence.