Egypt’s new parliament convened on Sunday, in its first session in three years, signaling the end of the country’s political roadmap that started in 2013.
For the first time since it was dissolved in 2012, and despite the daunting task, the 596 members of parliament were excited about their work.
“For 40 years the Egyptian people have only expected limited services from the parliament members. Today they hope that they will have a strong foundation of legislation that preserves their dignity, guarantees their freedoms and achieves their aspirations. We hope to do so for them,” said Mohamed EL Etmany, a member of parliament.
The parliament is unique. It has the highest representation of women, youth and Christians in Egypt’s history.
It has also broken the accustomed perception that only one party dominated — first it was Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party and in 2012 it was Mohamed Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party.
“This is a parliament of challenge. It is the parliament of will, a congress of war like many say. There are many coalitions and parties. There are more than 17 parties. The era of the one-party parliament is over,” said Madeeh Zanaty, a member of parliament.
An independent coalition named the Support Egypt Alliance, which is allied to the president, accumulated the largest number of MPs. It said it had formed the majority with more than 350 members.
“I think this is a very special parliament. It is the largest parliament ever in the history of Egypt, with 596 members. The power of this parliament is more powerful than any parliament elsewhere. It has even got some responsibilities of the president to the new parliament. So we have now a parliament which has some powers of the president, which is the first time ever in this country,” said Sameh Seif El Yazal, chairman of the Support Egypt Alliance.
This year’s parliament includes 89 female MPs, the highest in decades. For the first time, a third of the assembly are youth. It also comes at a crucial phase for Egypt. It is the first after an uprising that ousted former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood from power, and saw the rise of Abdel Fattah al Sisi.
On their first day, all members took their constitutional oath. Electing a speaker is next, and after that the real work begins.
“Ratifying the laws that were adopted during the former presidents, the interim President Adly Mansour and Abdel Fattah al Sisi. Around 400 laws, some that are very important, should be decided within 15 days. This is their main and urgent file,” said Ashraf Abul Hol, parliamentary affairs, Ahram Daily.
“We hope this new assembly can achieve our dreams because Egyptians have been suffering for 32 years,” said Sayed Abdel Fattah, a Cairo resident. (CCTV/Reuters)
