Constitutional amendment discussed in parliament's plenary session

CAIRO - 13 February 2019: The House of Representatives dedicated its plenary session on Wednesday to discussions on the draft constitutional amendments which were approved by the General Committee last week, and will be referred to the Constitutional and Legislative Committee.

What to know about Egypt's constitutional amendment process

CAIRO - 6 February 2019: The process to amend the constitution involves the House of Representatives, and the people who is expected to participate in the referendum to be held few months from now. Below are the details of measures to be taken.

At the beginning, Speaker Ali Abdel Aal set the rules as follows, “Discussions will be restricted to the proposed amendments. It is prohibited to suggest new ones. Representatives of parliamentary committees at political parties will be heard first. The order of speaking will be designated according to the party’s size and number of seats. Later on, the rest of parliamentarians will be heard.”

First Deputy Speaker Al Sayed Al Sharif presented the report prepared by the General Committee on the amendment proposal put forward by 155 parliamentarians. Discussions took place over three sessions.

Leader of “Support Egypt Coalition” Abdel Hady al-Qasabi described the process as “historic moments in the Egyptian parliamentary history as parliamentarians are practicing their right to amend some articles in the constitution.”


Speaker Ali Abdel Aal listening to parliamentarians in House of Representatives Plenary Session while discussing draft constitutional amendments. February 13, 2019. Egypt Today/Hazem Abdel Samad

The following are some of the parliamentarians who expressed their approval of the draft amendments: Mohamed al-Masry; Seif Nasr al-Din; Essam Mansy; Gehad Ibrahim; Mona Monir; Wahid Qarqar; Ahmed al-Baaly; Mai Mahmoud; Ehab al-Tamawy; Mahmoud Badr; Alaa Abed; Mohamed Salah Abou Hmeila; Tharwat Bekheit; Emad Gad; Suzi Nashed; Manal Maher; Abdel Razek Zant; Mohamed Akl; Badawi Abdel Latif; Fawzy Fatey; Yassin Abdel Sabour; Nour el-Din Abdel Razek; Ahmed Zidan; Saad Bedeir; Sahar Othman; Ehab al-Kholy; Hussein Khater; Reyad Abdel Satar; Ahmed al-Awady; Soad al-Masry; Salama al-Gohary; Amr Hamroush; Mostafa al-Gendy; Samy al-Mashad; and, Sahar Talaat Mostafa.

The reasons stated for approving the draft amendments were combating terrorism, achieving economic and sustainable development, and stability.

Parliamentarian Mona Monir demanded that women get a quota not just in the parliament but also in municipal councils. The amendment proposed to allocate a quota of 25 percent of seats to women was welcomed by female parliamentarians.

The next step will be referring the draft amendments to the Constitutional and Legislative Committee which must issue its report along with phrasing the articles within 60 days from receipt. If the draft amendments are approved by at least two thirds of parliamentarians, a referendum will be held for the people to vote.

Speaker Abdel Aal said that a social dialogue would be held, and that judicial entities will be asked for their opinion on the draft amendment pertinent to them.