Several political parties have laid the responsibility of approving amendments to the election laws without social consensus on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, slamming the swift issuance of the amendments without considering the political forces’ proposals.
Ahmed Ouda, member of the Wafd Party’s supreme body, called on the Cabinet to respond to the political forces’ proposals wondering, “What was the point of the social dialogue that lasted three days?”
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb met earlier with political parties to discuss their proposals over the amendments to the election laws.
Ouda accused the executive authority of wasting time and addressed Mehleb, urging him not to expedite the elections without considering the notes.
He added that the party will demand during the first session of parliament to amend the electoral measures, referring to the large number of electoral districts.
Hussein Abdel Razeq, a member of Tagammu Party’s politburo, said the committee tasked with the amendments and headed by Transitional Justice Ibrahim al-Heneidy, is not considering the proposals by the parties or the social consensus. Sisi's approval of one of the three scenarios submitted by the committee to the Cabinet also demonstrates that the president is not considering these elements.
Razeq told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Heneidy has no previous experience in elections laws and that he has placed unreasonable pressure on imposing the electoral system, which has been rejected by the majority of the political forces. “President Sisi will have to take responsibility for the political crisis that the laws will lead us to,” he said.
The politburo member said that the scenarios drawn by the committee are not similar to the parties’ proposals, indicating the swift issuance of laws before Ramadan, despite reluctance over the past few months. He also added that this will again open the door for challenges.
Mohamed Samy, head of the Karama Party, said what the Cabinet and committee have done prove they made decisions over the amendments in advance, without the need to consider the proposals.
Shehab Wageeh, the spokesperson for the Free Egyptians Party, on the other hand, said that the suggestion made by Cabinet is the best and that it considers all the categories as well as the division of electoral districts, adding that it also considered the Supreme Constitutional Court's verdict as it carried out all of its comments on the previous law.
Wageeh added that it was expected that social dialogue not be considered, as some independents submitted proposals that serve their own interests.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
