Egypt’s first parliament in 3 years convenes

Egypt’s first legislature in more than three years, a 596-seat chamber packed with supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, held its inaugural session yesterday, signaling the completion of a political road map announced after the 2013 military overthrow of an elected Islamist president.
The assembly, elected in November and December, is the first elected chamber since el-Sissi, as military chief, led the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against the Islamist leader and his Muslim Brotherhood. The new parliament replaces one dominated by Islamists that was dissolved by a court ruling in June 2012.
The new chamber’s first task will be to ratify some 300 presidential decrees issued by el-Sissi since taking office in June 2014 and interim president Adly Mansour before him. Under the constitution, these decrees must be ratified within 15 days starting from the date of the inaugural session. Failure to do so will result in the automatic repeal of the laws.
The decrees include a law severely restricting street demonstrations and a terror law that curbs press freedoms and gives police sweeping powers.
Yesterday’s session was mostly a procedural one, with lawmakers taking their oaths. The chamber is also expected to elect a speaker and two deputies. Some of the lawmakers, in a show of patriotism, held red, black and white Egyptian flags as they took the oath.
After Morsi’s overthrow, El-Sissi announced three steps to take Egypt back to democratic rule: The adoption of a new constitution and presidential and parliamentary elections.
But the process has unfolded against the backdrop of a harsh crackdown on Islamists and other dissidents that has seen thousands jailed. The Muslim Brotherhood, which swept every election following the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, is officially branded a terrorist group. AP