Egypt’s parliament to discuss councils draft law after years of delay

Egypt’s parliament, headed by speaker Ali Abdel Aal, will discuss on Sunday government-drafted law aimed at regulating local councils, a legislation that has been delayed for years.

During a plenary session, the members of parliament (MPs) will discuss a report by the parliamentary committee of local administration on the draft law. They will also discuss other laws drafted by three MPs.

The report was drafted on 17 December after several meetings by the members of the committee and was referred to Abdel Aal. The committee worked on the report along with the legislative and constitutional affairs committees of the parliament.

According to the report, a government-drafted law aimed at regulating the performance and election of Egypt’s local councils was referred to parliament in November 2016. It also provided a system to be followed in holding the local councils elections.

The new law is divided into several chapters: the basic components of the local administration system in Egypt, the local councils, and the financial resources.

This came as implementation of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s recent directions to parliament to quickly complete the laws of local councils and the Senate.

The discussion also came due to the approaching date of local council elections, is expected to take place in February 2020.

The long-awaited 156-article is one of the most important legislations expected to be issued by the parliament in preparation for holding local council elections, which were suspended for 12 years, as the last elections were held in 2008.

Source: Daily News Egypt