The current government has almost completed a development programme to be presented to the upcoming parliament.
“We should have a clearly established vision by the end of the month,” Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said Monday, as the second phase of the first round of the parliamentary elections were concluded.
Each ministry was assigned to develop its own developmental project and Ismail claimed Monday that half of the ministries completed their tasks. There have been no announced time frames for the government’s programme yet.
The government clearly expressed that it hopes to stay in power once the new parliament is elected. “Our programme places education as top priority and we hope it gets approved by the parliament,” Ismail said.
A new government and prime minister are expected to be appointed by the new parliament, which will hold its first session after the elections are completed in December. According to Article 146 of the Egyptian Constitution, President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi will assign a Prime Minister to form the government and introduce their programme to the House of Representatives.
“What the current government is trying to do by presenting a new programme will be equal to having a new government,” according to political expert at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, Yousry Al-Azabawy.
Al-Azabawy said the president, along with the party that has a majority inside the parliament, shall form the new government, which is in turn required to present its programme within 60 days.
If his government does not win the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives within 10 days at the most, Al-Sisi will appoint a Prime Minister who is nominated by the party or the coalition that holds the majority or the highest number of seats in the House of Representatives, according to the constitution.
“Since no political party is able to form the majority of the parliament then there will be no suggestions made from the parliament members but rather Al-Sisi will work with the coalition that holds the majority or the highest number of seats in the House of Representatives,” Al-Azabawy said.
The constitution further stipulates that if the prime minister’s cabinet fails to win the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives within 30 days, the parliament will be dissolved. The President will then call for the election of a new House of Representatives within 60 days from the date on which the dissolution is announced.
“That is why I do not expect that parliamentary members will disapprove of the government; neither do I expect major changes in the current government composition. Maybe a few ministers will be replaced,” Al-Azabawy said.
Sherif Ismail was named Prime Minister on 12 September 2015 following the sudden removal of Ibrahim Mehleb from the same post, following criticism of his cabinet’s performance and a “scandalous” corruption case in the Ministry of Agriculture.
