Egypt’s House of Representatives will on Monday be voting on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s decree to extend the state of emergency for a further three months starting from January 13.
The general session of the parliament will also discuss various other issues including the government’s policy on the protection of the poorest social groups, the preservation of natural reserves, the provision of medicine and medical supplies, Egyptian media communications on the African continent, and the increase in exports toAfrican countries, parliamentary sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Sisi issued a presidential decree on Sunday extending the state of emergency across the country for a period of three months starting from 1 am on January 13.
This is the third time the state of emergency has been renewed since it was imposed for the first time on April 10 after the terrorist attacks on two churches in Tanta and Alexandria. The attacks left approximately 45 people dead.
The emergency state was renewed last July after the approval of the House of Representatives, and the president issued a decree to renew it again in October.
Local and international critics of the government have argued that the emergency law is being used as a pretext by the country’s security apparatuses to further a crackdown on non-violent dissent, including non-governmental organisations, secular activists and independent media outlets.
Article 154 from the 2014 constitution grants Sisi the right to extend the emergency period for 90 days following its implementation, as long as this decision receives a two-thirds majority from MPs who have seven days to review the measure.
The decree is to be implemented after the approval of the House of Representatives.
Under the state of emergency, the president has the right to restrict freedoms of assembly, movement, residency, and also has the right to monitor messages of any kind, as well as newspapers, leaflets and publications. The president can also review all kinds of advertising before publishing, confiscate them, closing the places where they are printed, setting the dates for the opening and closing of public shops, and order the evacuation or isolation of certain areas.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
