Secretary-General of Egypt’s House of Representatives, Mahmoud Fawzi, said that the 28 members appointed by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will receive their membership cards on Sunday.
Speaking during a televised interview on Friday, Fawzi also said that half of the appointed members are women, with other members including prominent public figures and football players.
Al-Sisi has asked the new parliament to convene and begin its first legislative session on Tuesday. Article 150 of the Constitution requires the president to visit the parliament and deliver a policy statement at the opening session.
The opening session will be chaired by prominent writer Farida El-Shobashy, as the eldest member in the House, Fawzi said. He added that El-Shobashy will be assisted by two deputies, MPs Fatma Selim and Abanoub Ezzat, as the youngest members of the parliament.
During the opening session, the parliament speaker and the two agents will be elected, while MPs will take the constitutional oath, with each MP taking the oath individually rather than in groups.
Fawzi said the session will take place amid strict precautionary measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), adding that deputies will have their temperatures taken by thermal detectors. All attendees at the first session will also be required to wear face masks.
He stated that the vote in the elections for the House of Representatives Speaker will take place through a group of moving boxes, in which the deputies cast their votes from their own seats without creating a crowd in the hall. The individual deputies will follow them after the list leaves the hall, then the result is announced during the session.
A total of 540 newly elected MPs received their membership cards in December 2020. Egypt’s two-stage parliamentary elections were held between 24 October and 8 December 2020. The pro-government Mostaqbal Watan Party swept the polls, gaining 315 seats, which is 53% of the parliament’s seats.
