People's Assembly of Egypt
Encyclopedia
The People's Assembly is the lower house
of Egypt
's bicameral
parliament
. In spite of its lower status, however, it plays a more important role in drafting legislation and day-to-day legislative duties than the Shura Council
, the upper house.
states that the law shall determine the number of the People's Assembly elected members, provided that it is not less than 350 members. The Assembly is made up of 508 deputies
, 498 of whom are directly elected while the remaining 10 are appointed by the President of the Republic
. It also stipulated that at least one half of the members should be workers and farmers. The Assembly sits for a five-year term but can be dissolved earlier by the president. All seats are voted on in each election. Law No. 206 for 1990 determined that the number of constituencies shall be 222, with two members each, provided that one of whom at least should be a farmer or a worker. The People's Assembly members are elected by absolute majority of legitimate votes cast.
The People's Assembly may demand the resignation of the cabinet by voting a motion of censure. For this reason, the Prime Minister
and his cabinet are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the Assembly. When the president and assembly come from opposing parties (a situation which did arise historically, but not since the 1970s), this would lead to the situation known as cohabitation
. While motions of censure are periodically proposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, these are purely rhetorical; party discipline ensures that, throughout a parliamentary term, the government is never overthrown by the Assembly.
was assassinated in office, and then People's Assembly Speaker, Sufi Abu Taleb
served as acting president. The last PA Speaker was Dr. Ahmad Fathi Sorour
, a long-time serving former parliamentarian and politician who had been speaker from 1991 to the dissolution of parliament during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution
.
Ad hoc
The ad-hoc committees are formed by the suggestion of the Speaker or the request of the government to study, debate on a new bill or law, voting on the ratification of a new law or bill or a special issue of concern. The Speaker is responsible on choosing members for this committee. The Combined committees are formed by the request of the Speaker, the government, members of two or more of the specialized committees, with the aim of studying a particular issue of concern. These combined committees are headed by one of the Speaker's deputies. The orders of these committees are issued when a majority vote is achieved.
http://www.masrawy.com/News/2005/Egypt/Politics/october/31/assembly1.aspx
Egypt is divided into 222 constituencies, each having two Assembly members. Each one is for each category of seats present in the assembly, one for farmers/workers and the other is for "Professionals" (Arabic: fe'at). In order for a candidate to win a parliamentary seat, this candidate should obtain the majority of the votes cast. In case this candidate doesn't obtain the majority of votes, run-off elections take place between the highest four of the candidates, of whom at least two must be of the farmers/workers category.
The November 2000 Parliamentary Elections were generally regarded to have been more transparent and better executed than past elections. This is due to the new law put into force establishing universal judicial monitoring of polling stations. On the other hand, opposition parties continue to lodge credible complaints about electoral manipulation by the government. There are significant restrictions on the political process and freedom of expression for non-governmental organizations, including professional syndicates and organizations promoting respect for human rights
.
The November 2005 parliamentary elections
was yet one more test of the wave of political reform that has started earlier in the year and of which President Mubarak promised more of in his alleged final term as president. These elections were expected to carry an even higher degree of credibility and transparency than previous elections with laws allowing public and civil human rights and activists to separately monitor the election process; also the existence of more oppositional and political pressure groups, like the Muslim Brotherhood
, in Egypt. Although there have been a debate concerning the change of the election system to become party-list proportional representation
rather than the current Single-Winner system.
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
's bicameral
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
. In spite of its lower status, however, it plays a more important role in drafting legislation and day-to-day legislative duties than the Shura Council
Shura Council
The Shura Council is the upper house of Egyptian bicameral Parliament. Its name roughly translates into English as "the Consultative Council". The lower house of parliament is the People's Assembly....
, the upper house.
Formation of the Assembly
The ConstitutionConstitution of Egypt
The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt was the fundamental law of Egypt. It was adopted on September 11, 1971 through a public referendum. It was later amended in 1980, 2005 and 2007. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law,...
states that the law shall determine the number of the People's Assembly elected members, provided that it is not less than 350 members. The Assembly is made up of 508 deputies
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
, 498 of whom are directly elected while the remaining 10 are appointed by the President of the Republic
President of Egypt
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government....
. It also stipulated that at least one half of the members should be workers and farmers. The Assembly sits for a five-year term but can be dissolved earlier by the president. All seats are voted on in each election. Law No. 206 for 1990 determined that the number of constituencies shall be 222, with two members each, provided that one of whom at least should be a farmer or a worker. The People's Assembly members are elected by absolute majority of legitimate votes cast.
The People's Assembly may demand the resignation of the cabinet by voting a motion of censure. For this reason, the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Egypt
The Prime Minister of Egypt is the head of the Egyptian government. According to the constitution, the prime minister is the leader of the largest political party in the Egyptian Parliament....
and his cabinet are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the Assembly. When the president and assembly come from opposing parties (a situation which did arise historically, but not since the 1970s), this would lead to the situation known as cohabitation
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
. While motions of censure are periodically proposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, these are purely rhetorical; party discipline ensures that, throughout a parliamentary term, the government is never overthrown by the Assembly.
Powers
The People's Assembly has various competences stated in Chapter Five of the Constitution. According to article 86 the People's Assembly shall undertake:- Legislation
- Review and approval of agreements and treaties
- Review and approval of the State plan and budget
- Oversight of the work of the Executive
- Discussion of the President of the Republic's statement and the government program
- Amendments to the Constitution
- Approval of declarations of warDeclaration of warA declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
and emergencyState of emergencyA state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
Speaker of the People's Assembly
The People's Assembly Speaker (PA Speaker) presides over the Assembly and is elected from the Assembly membership, along with 2 deputies during the first session of the season. The Speaker's role in session is to keep the peace and order to the parliamentary session, take part in discussion provided that he gives up his presidency to one of his deputies and doesn't return to his presidency until the discussion is finished as well as ordering an emergency session for one of the Assembly's committees. In case of vacancy in the President's office, the Speaker serves as acting president until the presidential elections are held (Which must be within 60 days). This has happened once, when president Anwar SadatAnwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
was assassinated in office, and then People's Assembly Speaker, Sufi Abu Taleb
Sufi Abu Taleb
Sufi Abu Taleb was an Egyptian politician. He served as Speaker of the People's Assembly from 1978 to 1983 and, upon the assassination of Anwar El Sadat on 6 October 1981, assumed the duties of Acting head of state, as which he served for eight days until the accession of Hosni Mubarak.-Early...
served as acting president. The last PA Speaker was Dr. Ahmad Fathi Sorour
Ahmad Fathi Sorour
Ahmad Fathi Sorour is an Egyptian former politician who was the speaker of the People's Assembly since 1990, until the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. According to Article 84 of the Egyptian Constitution, Sorour, as speaker of the People's Assembly, was first in the order of succession to become...
, a long-time serving former parliamentarian and politician who had been speaker from 1991 to the dissolution of parliament during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
.
Speaker's Staff Office
The Staff is responsible for organization of the assembly's and its committees' agendas, the enforcement of the Assembly's orders and is the link between the Assembly and different agencies, ministries and other authorities. The staff consists of the PA speaker and his two deputies.Assembly's General Committee
This committee is formed in the beginning of the Assembly's annual season, headed by the Speaker. Its membership includes the Deputy Speakers, representatives of the political parties' parliamentary committees, and five Assembly members (of whom one is an independent, if there are more than ten independents). The Speaker is responsible for outlining the committee's agenda. The committee is responsible for discussing the general issues put forward by the president, the prime minister or the speaker.Specialized Committees
These 18 committees are:- Constitutional and Legislation Affairs committee
- Budget and Planning committee
- Economical Affairs committee
- Foreign Affairs committee
- Arab Affairs committee
- Defense, National Security and Mobilizationcommittee
- Proposals and Complaints committee
- Religious, Social and Religious Endowments (Awkaf) Affairs committee
- Health and Environmental Affairs committee
- Transportation and Telecommunications committee
- Housing, Public Utilities and Reconstruction committee
- Local Government and Public Organizations committee
- Youth committee
- Manpower Committee
- Industry and Energy Committee
- Agriculture and Irrigation Committee
- Education and Scientific Research Committee
- Culture, Information and Tourism Committee
Ethics Committee
This committee is formed in the beginning of the Assembly's annual season, headed by one of the PA speaker deputies. The membership includes the heads of the following committees: Constitutional Affairs and Legislation; Religious, Social and Awkaf Affairs; and Suggestions and Grievances; five members of the General Committee (of whom at least two are from the opposition parties); and five members chosen randomly from the Assembly. This committee is responsible for looking into the violations committed by Assembly members towards the Egyptian society's code of behavior towards religion, social standards, etc. Ad hocAd hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
& Combined Committees
The ad-hoc committees are formed by the suggestion of the Speaker or the request of the government to study, debate on a new bill or law, voting on the ratification of a new law or bill or a special issue of concern. The Speaker is responsible on choosing members for this committee. The Combined committees are formed by the request of the Speaker, the government, members of two or more of the specialized committees, with the aim of studying a particular issue of concern. These combined committees are headed by one of the Speaker's deputies. The orders of these committees are issued when a majority vote is achieved.Parliamentary Chapter
The Egyptian People's Assembly is the Egyptian representative of the international parliamentary conventions. This chapter aims at developing of mutual relations with international parliaments. The General Assembly of this chapter consists of the entire membership of the Assembly, and headed by the Speaker. The Executive committee of this chapter of the Speaker staff office, three members chosen from the Assembly membership of whom at least one is a member of the opposition parties. The Assembly meets in its chapter form every January. Emergency sessions are held by the request of the executive committee to look into any of additionally outlined issues of concern.http://www.masrawy.com/News/2005/Egypt/Politics/october/31/assembly1.aspx
2005
Parliamentary elections in Egypt are carried over three stages every 5 years. The elections take place within the sixty days preceding the termination of its term. Since 1990, the election system is first past the post electoral system vote. Each stage covers a certain number of Egyptian governorates, with each stage ballot results are announced independently and right after the vote count is finished.Egypt is divided into 222 constituencies, each having two Assembly members. Each one is for each category of seats present in the assembly, one for farmers/workers and the other is for "Professionals" (Arabic: fe'at). In order for a candidate to win a parliamentary seat, this candidate should obtain the majority of the votes cast. In case this candidate doesn't obtain the majority of votes, run-off elections take place between the highest four of the candidates, of whom at least two must be of the farmers/workers category.
The November 2000 Parliamentary Elections were generally regarded to have been more transparent and better executed than past elections. This is due to the new law put into force establishing universal judicial monitoring of polling stations. On the other hand, opposition parties continue to lodge credible complaints about electoral manipulation by the government. There are significant restrictions on the political process and freedom of expression for non-governmental organizations, including professional syndicates and organizations promoting respect for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
.
The November 2005 parliamentary elections
Egyptian parliamentary election, 2005
The Egyptian parliamentary elections of 2005 was the scheduled three-stage elections in November and December 2005 for determining its lower house membership. The elections formed the Eighth Assembly since the adoption of the 1971 Constitution...
was yet one more test of the wave of political reform that has started earlier in the year and of which President Mubarak promised more of in his alleged final term as president. These elections were expected to carry an even higher degree of credibility and transparency than previous elections with laws allowing public and civil human rights and activists to separately monitor the election process; also the existence of more oppositional and political pressure groups, like the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
, in Egypt. Although there have been a debate concerning the change of the election system to become party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
rather than the current Single-Winner system.