Senate Council To Be Elected Separately To Parliament

Egypt’s 50 member constitution-drafting committee announced on Tuesday that the Senate Council – replacing the Shura Council as the upper chamber of Parliament – would have a separate electoral law to wider parliamentary elections.

“The Senate council will be elected under a different law. Its advantage will be to include competent candidates that will not be able to win votes in the House of Representatives,” the official spokesman for the 50-member committee, Mohamed Salmawy, said in a press conference held on Tuesday.

The Systems of Governance 10-member committee has agreed to the formation of a new Senate Council with different powers to the previous upper house, according to Salmawy.

“The Senate Council will bring legislative balance and prevent party dominance in the parliament,” he added.

The constitution-drafting committee, assigned to amend the suspended 2012 constitution, is expected to finish its first draft of amendments before the Eid feast next weekend.

Source : Ahram