Citizens call for extending presidential term before Court of Urgent Matters

CAIRO - 23 December 2018: Some citizens, mostly youth, gathered on Sunday before the Court of Urgent Matters in Abdeen, calling for amending Article 140 of the 2014 constitution to extend the presidential term.

This coincides with the court's consideration of amending Article 140 and extending President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's tenure for a third term. The citizens held President Sisi's photos, supporting him for a third term of presidency.

Some citizens demanded Lawyer Ayman Abdel-Hakim Ramadan to file a case, demanding that Egypt’s Parliament debate the two-term limit, amend Article 140 and extend the presidency tenure to three terms. The court agreed to hear the case on December 23.

Ramadan and his fellow petitioners wrote in their court filing that it would be “unfair to the great Egyptian people” if Sisi’s term was limited to eight years and he was not given enough time to deal with the country’s security and economic problems. It added that Egypt needs to extend the presidency term to carry out more achievements.

Sisi kicked off his second presidential term (2018-2022) on June 2 after swearing in the office in an exceptional session at the Parliament.

Sisi swept the presidential election held in March. He won with more than 97 percent of the votes against his rival Moussa Moustafa Moussa. He swore in for his first presidential term in 2014 before the General Assembly of the Supreme Constitutional Court due to the absence of the Parliament at that time.

According to the Constitution, Sisi’s first presidential term endedon June 3, 2018. Swearing before the Parliament was applied for the first time since 2005 when former President Hosni Mubarak took the oath for the last time.