FILE - Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal
CAIRO - 26 March 2019: Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal stated that the proposed constitutional amendments will not include articles pertaining to rights and freedoms.
His statements came during the third societal dialogue; a series of national discussions where various members of the society partake to exchange views on the draft amendments.
During the meeting, held with parliamentarians from Lower Egypt, Abdel Aal said that some articles of the constitution are no longer suitable for the current conditions the country is going through. We are still within a transitional phase and the region is witnessing ongoing incidents, he said.
"I am speaking to you today as being one of the makers of the current constitution (2014) and the discussion is open for anyone without any limits," he added.
The constitutional amendments are necessary but at the same time "we are well aware that no absolute consensus can be reached," he said.
The House of Representatives released a statement Sunday detailing procedures taken regarding the proposed constitutional amendments.
The statement said that the final drafting of the amendments might be finalized by mid-April, after which two-thirds of the Parliament members' votes are required to pass the amendments to a national referendum.
The National Election Authority is expected to invite citizens to a national referendum.
As per the constitutional amendments, the presidential term would be extended for 6 years instead of 4 years and heads of the judicial bodies would be appointed by the president.
The new amendments also call for allocating 25 percent of the Parliament seats for women.
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