In a parliamentary general session on Monday, parliament speaker Ali Abdul Aal has finalised the decision on various issues that have been pending for a month.
During the session, Abdul Aal referred the Red Sea Islands case to the Constitutional and Legislation Affairs Committee so that it would be studied for a final vote. He also decided to take members’ final votes regarding the amendment of the Protest Law.
Despite so, it was expected that the parliament will only gather to ratify the state of emergency that was announced and declared a day earlier by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi after two church attacks on Palm Sunday.
The parliament’s declarations on these issues came amid people’s focus on the state of emergency.
Referral of the “Red Sea Islands” agreement came after it was pending for four months in parliament, since the cabinet ordered the parliament to discuss it. This was followed by rejection from members of parliament, politicians, and lawyers, all who have stated that the parliament is not the authorised entity to take decisions related to the agreement.
Moreover, parliament also finally approved the amendment of the Protest law that was limited to Article 10.
Two weeks ago, the parliament postponed the voting on the amendment as the required quorum of two-thirds of the members of parliament (MPs) was not met.
Controversy stirred in the parliament due to the amendment of Article 10, which was requested by the government. MPs wanted to review the law as a whole, especially articles related to punishments. This law’s approval also came after months of being put on hold in the parliament.
During Monday’s session, Abdul Aal discussed with the members the amendments regarding criminal procedures and the State of Emergency Law, both of which they view as important for the country’s stability and its current situation.
It is furthermore expected that the parliament will approve on Tuesday the laws related to establishing new national media and press institutions.
