Egypt mulls constitution change
Al Sissi supporters want to discuss repealing article limiting presidents to two terms
Cairo - Supporters of Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi are calling for constitutional changes that would allow him to stay in power once his second term ends in 2022.
Backers of the former military chief, re-elected in March with over 97 per cent of the vote, want parliament to discuss repealing an article limiting presidents to two consecutive four-year terms.
In an editorial published on Sunday, the pro-government state-run daily newspaper Al Akhbar voiced hope that 2019 would see “the start of a belated political reform” to secure Al Sissi’s future in power.
The column by the newspaper’s director Yasser Rizk said this would “preserve all the people’s gains in terms of security, stability and economic recovery” since Al Sissi came to power five years ago,
He said the change could be approved by late summer 2019.
Al Sissi, who led the army’s overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi in 2013 following mass protests against his rule, won his first term as president the following year.
Al Sissi has overseen a military campaign against Daesh-linked militants in the Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt is slowly recovering from a deep economic crisis that has seen the value of its currency plummet and state subsidies slashed.
In November 2017, even before he was re-elected, Al Sissi told American news network CNBC he would not seek a third term in office.
But after his victory in the March 2018 polls, the question has gradually returned to public debate.
Mohammad Fuad, and MP with the Wafd party close to the government, told AFP that “the whole of Egypt was talking about (Rizk’s) article last night”.
“This issue has been under discussion everywhere in Egypt, not just in parliament, for some time,” he said, adding that a potential parliamentary debate on the issue had not been initiated by the government.
In the current context of Egyptian politics, there was little surprise that the debate was taking place, Fuad said.
“People have been expecting a constitutional amendment on extending presidential terms, because every time the debate turns to the end of (Al Sissi’s) second term, the question is: who is the alternative? That causes panic,” he said.