The head of the parliament’s Social Solidarity Committee, Abdel Hady Al-Kasby, denied that the approved NGOs bill has been sent to the president, adding that the draft law is still present in the parliament.
This statement came in response to media reports claiming that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi returned the law to parliament for amendments.
The parliament approved last November the NGOs law drafted by Al-Kasby, which came in contradiction with another bill submitted by the government.
Al-Kasby confirmed that the media reports are not true, and that the law is still in parliament and has yet to be sent to the president.
Laws approved in parliament should be sent to the president for final review in accordance with constitutional Article 123, which gives the president the right to reject or amend any law.
The parliament is working on several bills, with each having a scheduled time for being sent to the president, he explained.
In accordance with Article 177 in the parliament’s internal regulations, if the president rejects any bill approved by the parliament, he is supposed to return the law back to the parliament within 30 days for amendments. If he exceeds this duration then the law will be enforced.
The NGOs law approved by the parliament was met by critics from NGOs and civil society, as well as some parliament members, all believing that it will eliminate civil work in Egypt.
