Egypt’s President may get 11-year rule extension from parliament

Egypt’s parliament, packed with loyalists of President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi, began Tuesday a session to vote on changes to the
constitution that could keep the former military chief in power
until 2030.

The proposed amendments were initially introduced in February by
a parliamentary bloc supportive of Sisi and updated this week after
several rounds of debates.

It includes changing Article 140 of the constitution to allow
the Egyptian president to extend his current four-year term, which
ends in 2022, by two years.

A further change would permit Sisi to stand for another six-year
term and potentially remain president until 2030.

Parliament is also due to vote on a controversial article which
critics fear might allow the military a greater influence in
Egyptian political life.

Pro-Sisi member of parliament Mostafa Bakry told AFP that the
session “had started” and that the final voting in the 596-seat
parliament, which is dominated by Sisi loyalists, would be held
“later today”.

State-run Al-Ahram news website said that several MPs carried
Egyptian flags as they gathered for the vote inside the parliament
while nationalistic songs played in the background.

The vote is expected to be swift, after if it is passed by a
majority of two thirds, parliament will then hold a referendum in
which Egyptians will vote on the raft of amendments.

Sisi led the army’s overthrow of elected president Mohamed Morsi
in 2013 following mass protests against the Islamist leader’s
rule.

He won his first term as president in 2014 and was re-elected in
March 2018 with more than 97 percent of the vote, after standing
virtually unopposed.

His government has been widely criticised by human rights groups
for the repression of political opponents.

But MP Mohamed Abu-Hamed, who pushed for the constitutional
amendments to keep Sisi in power, is adamant that the changes to
allow him to complete political and economic reforms.

“The constitution in 2014 was written under tough exceptional
circumstances,” he told AFP.

He hailed Sisi as a president who “took important political,
economic and security measures… (and) must continue with his
reforms,” in the face of the unrest gripping neighbouring
countries.

The vote comes after two veteran presidents were ousted in
Algeria and Sudan and amid an escalation of the conflict in
Libya.

Keeping Sisi in power, he added, reflects “the will of the
people”.

‘Authoritarian rule’
Since Sisi overthrew Morsi, Egypt has drawn heavy international
criticism for its sweeping crackdown on dissent.

The authorities have jailed thousands of Morsi’s supporters as
well as liberal and secular activists, including a popular blogger,
actors, singers and journalists.

Last week, Human Rights Watch warned that the amendments, which
would also grant Sisi control over the judiciary, would
“institutionalise authoritarianism”.

As Sisi visited Washington for talks with President Donald
Trump, the rights watchdog urged Congress, to withhold endorsement
of the Egyptian president’s bid to extend his rule.

“Congress needs to use its levers to pressure the Egyptian
president to reverse course, starting with withdrawing these
constitutional amendments set to consolidate authoritarian rule,”
said HRW’s Michael Page.

Amnesty International last week warned that if passed the
constitutional amendments “would worsen the devastating human
rights crisis Egyptians are already facing.”

“They would grant President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and security
forces free rein to further abuse their powers and suppress
peaceful dissent for years to come,” said Amnesty’s Magdalena
Mughrabi.

Other proposed amendments include a quota for women’s
representation of no less than 25 percent in parliament and forming
a second parliamentary chamber.

Human rights groups and opposition parties say the government
has intensified its crackdown on dissent with a wave of arrests
ahead of the vote.