Egyptians might be invited to referendum after mid-April

CAIRO – 24 March 2019: The National Election Authority is expected to invite Egyptians to cast their vote on draft constitutional amendments after mid April in case two-thirds of the Members of the Parliament approved them, according to a parliament statement on Sunday.

The parliament is currently holding societal dialogues to discuss the proposed amendments before they are drafted in their final wording by the constitutional and legislative committee at the House of Representatives.

The statement said that the drafting phase might be finalized by mid-April, after which Egyptians are expected to be invited to public referendum to decide on the proposed constitutional amendments.

As per the constitutional amendments, the presidential term would be extended for 6 years instead of 4 years and heads of the judicial bodies would be appointed by the president.

The new amendments also call for allocating 25 percent of the Parliament seats for women. Other judiciary officials asked for extending the presidency of the judicial bodies for 6 years instead of 4 years.

One fifth of parliament members submitted a proposal to conduct constitutional amendments in line with Article 226 of the constitution and Article 140 of Parliament’s internal by-laws. They asked for extending the presidential term to six years from four, “as the current circumstances have proven the step essential,” according to a statement issued by the Parliament on February 3, 2019. The amendments also tackle appointing the heads of judicial bodies by the president.