CAIRO: The People’s Assembly approved the extension of Law 29 of 1972 on Monday, giving President Hosni Mubarak authority over decisions pertaining to arms trade until the end of his term in 2011.
The PA approved the law after 313 of 338 members voted for its extension. Most of the independent and opposition members voted against it.
This law had not undergone any changes since it was put into effect in 1972 during the war with Israel. The law had never been discussed in the PA.
National Democratic Party (NDP) members said they voted for the law’s extension because they “trust the president.
However, opposition members rejected the correlation between extending the law and the concept of trust.
