A number of MPs from Egypt’s newly elected Shura Council, the upper house of Parliament, violated the official oath while swearing in during the opening session Tuesday.
Some MPs added the line, “As long as it does not contradict with God’s law,” after swearing to uphold Egyptian law.
The members ignored requests by the council’s temporary speaker, Mohamed Hassan al-Meligy, to commit to the official oath, which prompted him to ask for the additional phrase to be removed from the session’s minutes.
Members of Parliament in the lower house, the People’s Assembly, also added similar lines to their oaths during the assembly’s opening session on 23 January.
Elections for the Shura Council ended last week with a sweeping win by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which seized 58 percent of its seats, followed by the Salafi-oriented Nour Party, which won 25 percent.
Under former President Hosni Mubarak, the council did not have a strong role in legislation, merely reviewing draft laws and submitting recommendations on them before referring them to the People's Assembly.
This limited role remained unchanged in the Constitutional Declaration issued in March, which brought about calls to remove the council before elections began.
