Egypt’s Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal referred on Saturday a draft law to combat debauchery and Lechery, formulated by 61 parliament members including Hisham Wally, to the constitutional and legislative affairs committee for reviewal.
It came during a plenary meeting to discuss the report of the constitutional and legislative affairs committee regarding dropping membership of two MPs Sahar Al-Hawary and Khalid Bishr who were convicted in a bounced cheques case.
According to Article 110 of the Constitution, the membership of any parliamentarian may only be revoked if a member lost confidence or any of the conditions on which he was elected, or if the duties of membership have been violated. The decision to revoke membership should be voted by a two-third majority of the members of the House of Representatives.
Abdel Aal noted that parliamentary immunity should not be a privilege for the member or his personal interest, but it is for the public interest, adding that the immunity should be within the limits that ensure parliament independence.
Abdel Aal said since the issue is critical, they will establish a committee according to Article 19 of the parliament by-laws to review the issue and release a report on it and submit it to the parliament.
The parliament requested the committee to make a legal study on the rulings issued against the MPs, and if there are specific regulations that stipulate dropping their membership, and the report should be submitted to the parliament within 20 days.
