Egypt’s new parliament convened yesterday, in its first session in three years, after a legislative election dominated by pro-government candidates in the absence of any opposition.
Analysts have said the new 596-member parliament is expected to strengthen the hand of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and government decisions.
It was elected last year in two phases with a low turnout of just 28.3% after authorities launched a deadly crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood movement of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.
At yesterday’s inaugural session, the new parliamentarians took the oath one at a time, some of them holding Egypt’s flag, before beginning the process of electing a new speaker and his two deputies.
Deputies going into the heavily secured parliament building in Cairo said the first task ahead was to deal with hundreds of bills that need to be ratified.
“The most important thing is to deal with more than 300 (draft) laws and we have to do that in the next 15 days,” said MP Saeed Hassasein.
“We have agreed among parliamentarians to work day and night until we ratify those laws,” he added.
The bills have accumulated since the last Brotherhood-dominated parliament was dissolved by the constitutional court in June 2012.
MP Osama Heikal also said that 15 days were needed to review the bills and ratify them.
Lawmakers were elected under a complex system of independent candidates and party lists.
All party list seats went to the For Love of Egypt coalition, an alliance of parties and groups that support Sisi, the army chief who deposed Mursi before winning a presidential election in May 2014.
The individual seats went to a mix of party-affiliated candidates and independents.

New speaker to push through Sisi laws

Meeting for the first time in more than three years, Egypt’s new parliament yesterday elected a constitutional expert as its speaker, a key position as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi looks to push through more than 200 laws issued by executive decree while the assembly was suspended.
Ali Abdelaal, a French-educated lawyer who helped draft the constitution and election law, is a member of the “Support Egypt” coalition, an alliance of over 400 MPs loyal to Sisi.
As speaker, Abdelaal is now first in the line of succession in case of the death or permanent incapacity of the president, until new elections are held.