Egypt’s Newly Elected Parliament Convenes, Including Historic Number of Female Members
Egypt’s newly elected House of Representatives convened for the first time on Sunday, the 10th of January. In a statement issued by the Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi congratulated the Egyptian people on the occasion, and “wished success” to the newly-formed Parliament, the first since 2012. The new Parliament will be the most diverse and empowered in Egypt’s history with significant representation from women, youth, and Christians, who respectively hold 87, 54, and 39 seats in the 596 seat legislative body. This marks the highest percentage of female Parliamentary representation in Egypt’s history.
The new Parliament’s oversight function and responsibility to determine whether Egypt’s current laws live up to the Constitution – and to craft new laws where they don’t – establishes it as a co-equal political partner with the executive branch. The House of Representatives convenes with expanded authorities and derives its power from a progressive new Constitution, which was approved through referendum in January 2014 and marked the first in a series of key milestones in Egypt’s democratic evolution. The newly elected members of Parliament will now play a pivotal role in fulfilling the peoples’ desire for equitable prosperity and enduring liberty, stability and social justice.
For more on Egypt’s newly-formed Parliament please see our fact sheet here. Below is the full presidential statement.
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| Statement from the Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi congratulates the people of Egypt and the members of the House of Representatives for convening its first session of the Parliament, which was formed after the completion of the third milestone of the ‘Roadmap for the Future’ on which national stakeholders agreed. This concludes the institutional and legislative frameworks of the Egyptian state in order to realize the ambitions of the Egyptian people for establishing a modern state that upholds the values of democracy and justice and pursues development with the contribution of its people. President El Sisi wishes the Parliament success in undertaking its oversight and legislation role. The President asserts the executive authority’s full support to the House of Representatives in carrying out its tasks, while fully respecting the principle of separation of powers as the constitution stipulates. This is to ensure that Parliament members fully and freely accomplish their national duties. President El Sisi stresses the importance of resuming Egypt’s Parliamentary activities at the regional and international levels, in order to further the popular aspect of its foreign relations. President El Sisi congratulates the Egyptian people on what has been achieved through their will, unity and keenness to uphold the nation’s interest. The President stresses the importance of enhancing national cohesion to preserve the state’s institutions and support development efforts. |
