According to Al-Shorouk newspaper, parliament's oldest 19 members were selected to chair 19 committees that will review decrees adopted by the presidency during the absence of parliament. Mansour's appointment is reportedly only temporary, but his chairmanship will last until the fifth anniversary of the January 25 Revolution, which he has been vocally against.
Mansour, a controversial lawyer and Zamalek Sports Club chair, was the center of a media storm earlier this week during parliament's opening session on Sunday.
The MP refused to recite his oath in full because of the Constitution's inclusion of the January 25 Revolution. Mansour said he would not pay tribute to January 25 because he saw it as an uprising, not a revolution, that was taken over by the Muslim Brotherhood, adding that the true revolution occurred on June 30.
Social media users responded immediately to the announcement, with most Twitter and Facebook users using sarcasm to denote their disapproval of the selection.
"Mortada Mansour hates human rights so naturally he's chairing parliament's human rights committee," tweeted political analyst Basil El-Dabh following the announcement.
Mansour is an on-going target of media criticism, as many commentators deride him for being eccentric.
"Mortada 'Jan 25 not a revolution' Mansour as head of new Egypt parliament human rights committee approaches political perfection," political science Professor Marc Lynch said sarcastically in a tweet published shortly after the announcement.
