Minister of Parliament Affairs Magdy El-Agaty said Monday that parliament could end its vacation one day earlier than scheduled, before the cabinet makes its programme proposal next Sunday.
Parliamentary Speaker Ali Abdul Aal decided on 8 March to lift parliamentary sessions until 27 March. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail will present the government’s programme to parliament in the upcoming period.
MPs expect the government’s vision to cover the remainder of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s first presidential term, ending June 2018, at the very least.
However, a parliament internal by-law is essential for the functioning of parliament. It includes its organisational chart and working regulations. As so, the parliament cannot receive the government’s programme without first passing the by-law.
MPs completed the by-law in early March, sent it for revision by senior judicial experts at the State Council, and are awaiting its return to be able to pass it.
El-Agaty suggested that Abdul Aal could call for an urgent parliamentary session Saturday to finalise the process, according to state-owned media Al-Ahram on Monday, adding that the council was expected to be finished with it by Thursday.
The parliament launched on 10 January and completed its first task stated in the constitution: the revision of presidential decrees with the full force of law issued in its absence within 15 days.
To be able to do so, the parliament relied on the old by-law. Its second task was to update the old internal by-law, according to the constitution adopted in 2014.
This parliament’s internal by-law is exceptionally treated as a law, issued through a presidential decree; in comparison to other state bodies’ by-laws that are only internally managed, according to Ramy Mohsen, chairman of the non-governmental National Centre for Research and Consulting (NCRC) specialised in parliamentary affairs.
“The chart includes 440 articles, which makes it the longest parliament internal by-law in the world,” Mohsen told Daily News Egypt. “But it is very important as it tackles every single aspect the new parliament of 596 members,” he stated.
