Egypt’s parliament on Tuesday referred a request by 95 members to refer MP Ahmed Tantawi to the ethics committee for disciplinary action, to the parliament’s internal bureau to decide on it, after Tantawi proposed a political reform initiative.
Tantawi’s initiative called for the abolition of the recent constitutional amendments, which allow the president’s term in office be increased from four to six years.
“I have been asked by 95 parliamentarians to refer MP Ahmed Tantawi to the ethics committee for disciplinary action,” parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al said on Tuesday.
Tantawi, a member of the 25-30 bloc, faced a wave of accusations of distorting state institutions and officials.
This came in the wake of a lengthy video posted on Tantawi’s Facebook page, through which he suggested what he called a “reform initiative” to solve Egypt’s political, economic, and social problems.
Tantawi asked the speaker of parliament to form a committee to discuss the initiative.
He attributed the problems faced by Egypt to the lack of separation of powers, and the unilateral power of the president, calling on President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to leave office by 2022 when his term ends.
In his initiative, Tantawi stressed the importance of repealing the recent constitutional amendments that allow President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to remain in power until 2030. He also called for the release of political prisoners.
In response, Abdel-Aal said, “Anyone who doubts the referendum, constitutional amendments, the legitimacy of state officials, and those dealing with this country or the political leadership negatively, has no place in Egypt and should go to another country. We are mandated according to the Constitution to protect the country and its people. Homeland, political leadership, army, and police are red-lines.”
