Former interim president Adly Mansour has been suggested by different political factions as a strong candidate for the position of parliament speaker.
The official presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef denied Daily News Egypt news reports which emerged Monday stating that Mansour had accepted the appointment from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to the parliament.
This is despite a meeting that took place Saturday between Al-Sisi and Mansour, which the presidency announced in a press statement, only mentioning that a meeting occurred with no other details provided.
The parliament was recently elected with a total of 568 candidates and currently awaits the appointment of 28 members by Al-Sisi, as he is entitled to designating no more than 5% of the total number of MPs.
Mansour, currently the president of the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), has abstained from making any official announcements to confirm or deny his appointment to the parliament.
In comments made on his show “Happening in Egypt”, TV presenter Sherif Amer claimed to have spoken to Mansour Monday and repeated Mansour’s statement on air.
“[Manour is] going to court tomorrow to carry on with [his] usual duties. [Mansour is] not going to discuss the parliamentary issue and Al-Sisi is the only one in charge of the matter,” Sherif quoted Mansour as saying.
Minister of Transitional Justice and Parliament Affairs Magdy El-Agaty expected that the parliament will hold its first session on 10 January, according to state-owned media MENA.
The session will be headed by MP Amna Nosseir, who by law is entitled to the position of temporary parliament speaker, since she is the oldest member.
