Egypt’s parliament accepts MP Siam resignation in majority vote

The majority of Egypt’s parliamentarians voted on Sunday to accept the resignation of MP Sirri Siam, making him the first House of Representatives member to resign in the newly convened parliament.

It is still unclear how many MPs voted to accept Siam’s resignation, but two-thirds of the 595 parliamentarians were needed to approve it.

Siam was one of 28 MPs appointed by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

He is the former chairman of the Court of Cassation and the Higher Council for Judges.

Siam handed in his resignation two weeks ago, explaining that, although he is a legal expert, he was not selected to be part of the committee drafting the parliament’s by-laws.

He described the situation by saying that, “there is an atmosphere trying to make me unable to fulfill the parliamentary role.”

“If I can’t be used in the legislative field, how can I be beneficial [to the parliament]?” Siam said to Ahram Arabic website at the time of submitting his resignation.

Now that Siam’s seat is empty, El-Sisi is expected to appoint his replacement.

Egypt’s parliament convened for the first time in early January, ending a four-year parliamentary hiatus where the legislative powers were held by the president.

source: Ahram Online