Just what constitutional amendments have been approved in Egypt?

Egypt’s National Election Authority has announced that an overwhelming majority of the voters who participated in the recent referendum have approved the constitutional changes contained therein.

Voter turnout in the referendum, which was carried out between April 18 and April 22, stood at 44.3%, or about 27 million voters. Of these voters, 88.8% approved amendments to the 2014 Constitution.

These constitutional amendments had been approved by similarly a huge margin in parliament, where 531 members of parliament voted for it, while 22 voted against it. One MP abstained from the vote.

The amendments were on at least 10 articles of the constitution, yet the draft amendments were made public only a day to the referendum.

The Amendments

The amendments have caused a global furor as they seem designed to grant more powers to the Executive while impinging upon the Judiciary.

For instance, following the amendment, Pres. Abdel Fattah el- Sisi can stay in power until 2030. Under the old constitution, it was expected that Pres. Sisi would be leaving office in 2022, having been elected last year for what would have been his final 4-year term. However, consequent to the amendment of article 140, his term is now six years long, and he can vie for another six-year term. A transitional clause enables this scenario to play out.

An amendment to article 253 frees the executive arm of the government from any accountability to the Senate.

The Judiciary, while being guaranteed an independent budget, has been effectively put under the president’s control. The heads of judicial authorities will be appointed by the president. Furthermore, an amendment to article 185 creates a “higher council for judicial authorities”, which will be headed by the president. Its role is to discuss judicial matters. These matters would include the likes of appointing the prosecutor-general, who is appointed by the president, from a list given by this higher council.

Similarly, as per the amendment to article 193, the chairman of the Supreme constitutional Court is to be appointed by the president. This chairman would nominate prospective court commissioners, from which the president will appoint people to that position.

Other amendments include one made on article 102. This is one a handful of positive ones, as it seeks to reduce the number of legislators from 596 to 450, while reserving 112 seats for women. Amendments to articles 243 and 244 also compel the state to guarantee the representation of workers, farmers, the youth, Christians and Egyptian expatriates.

Africa Global News Production