Parliament of Egypt

The Parliament of Egypt is a bicameral legislature. It is located in Cairo, Egypt's capital. As the legislative branch of the Egyptian government, the Parliament enacts laws, approves the general policy of the State, the general plan for economic and social development and the general budget of the State, supervises the work of the government, and has the power to vote to impeach the President of the Republic, or replace the government and its Prime Minister by a vote of no-confidence.

History and composition

Main Article: History of Parliamentary life in Egypt

Parliamentary life began in Egypt as early as 1866, and since then several forms of national assemblies have been formed, dismantled and amended to reach the present-day form. Since 1866, Egypt witnessed seven parliamentary systems whose legislative and oversight competences varied and reflected the history of the Egyptian people's struggle to establish a society based on democracy and freedom. For more than 135 years of parliamentary history Egypt witnessed 32 Parliaments whose members ranged between 75 and 458 who contributed to writing Egypt's modern political social, economic and cultural history. According to the present-day constitution, the Parliament comprises the following two legislative houses or chambers:

• The People's Assembly ("Majilis Al-Sha’ab"), a 454-member lower house.
• The Shura Council ("Majilis Al-Shura"), a 264-member upper house.

The Parliament meets for one nine-month session each year: under special circumstances the President of the Republic can call an additional session. Even though the powers of the Parliament have increased since the 1980 Amendments of the Constitution, many still argue that the Parliament remains to lack the powers to effectively balance the excessive powers of the President.

People's Assembly

The People's Assembly is the lower house and was formed in 1971 as a result of the adoption of the new constitution. The Assembly is made up of 454 deputies, 444 of whom are directly elected while the remaining 10 are appointed by the President of the Republic. The Constitution reserves 50 percent of the Assembly's seats for "workers and farmers", one per each two seat constituency. The Assembly sits for a five-year term but can be dissolved earlier by the president. All seats are voted on in each election.

Composition : 454

Term  : 5 years

Shura Council

The Shura Council is the upper house . Its name roughly translates into English as "the Consultative Council". The Council was created in 1980 through a Constitutional Amendment. The Council is composed of 264 members of which 174 members are directly elected and the 88 are appointed by the President of the Republic for six-year terms. Membership is rotating, with one half of the Council renewed every three years. The Shura Council's legislative powers are limited. On most matters of legislation, the People's Assembly retains the last word in the event of a disagreement between the two houses.

2008 Fire Incident

Fire broke out today in the Egyptian parliament at around 16:00local time. The number of casualties had reached 13 by 22:30. Officials said that most of the casualties were a result of smoke inhalation and minor burns.

External links

• The Egyptian People's Assembly