Egypt parliament votes to extend Sisi presidency

Egypt’s parliament yesterday gave preliminary approval to constitutional changes that would allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to stay in power after his second term ends in 2022. A total of 485 lawmakers out of 596 “endorsed in principle the constitutional amendments after three consecutive sessions that lasted more than 10 hours,” a statement on parliament’s website said.

The amendments will now be submitted to parliament’s legislative commission which must draft them into legislation and return them to parliament within 60 days for a final vote. If the vote is passed by a majority of two thirds, parliament will then hold a referendum in line with the conditions of the 2014 constitution.

Backers of Sisi, a former army chief who was re-elected president in March 2018 with over 97 per cent of the vote, have been pressing parliament to repeal an article in the constitution limiting presidents to two consecutive four-year terms. The key amendment endorsed Wednesday calls for extending the president’s term in office from four years to six, parliament said on its website.