Calls to allow Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to remain in power beyond 2030 have drawn criticism over motives and timing, in light of the president’s assurances he does not intend to stay in office beyond his current term.
Egyptian parliamentarian Mostafa Bakry said in an interview that “the people have the right to amend the constitution or call for the drafting of a new constitution, in which case Sisi would have the right to run for additional terms.”
TV presenter Ahmed Moussa noted that the Egyptian constitution had been amended in 2011 and again in 2019, questioning why it could not be amended again, saying, “This is democracy.”
Hossam Moanis, an independent Egyptian politician, told MBN it was to be expected that “some voices would try to push the usual talk about stability, the will of the people and other arguments that appear legitimate on the surface, while their real purpose is to deprive the people of their right to a constitutional transfer of power for the first time in Egypt’s history.”
Egyptian media have faced criticism over lack of independence, and Human Rights Watch point to continued restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as the prosecution of journalists, activists and opposition figures.
Since the republic was established in 1953, Egypt has been ruled by a succession of presidents from the military: Mohamed Naguib, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarak and now Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with two exceptional cases of civilian rule.
The first came in 2012 with Mohamed Morsi, a candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, designated a terrorist organization by the United States. His presidency ended a year later, following widespread popular protests.
Adly Mansour, head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, also served as president for a transitional period of about a year after Morsi was ousted in 2013.
Sisi first ran for office under the 2014 constitution, which set presidential terms at four years and limited presidents to two consecutive terms. Constitutional amendments approved in 2019 extended terms to six years and allowed Sisi to run for an additional term, ending in 2030.
Article 226 of the Egyptian constitution states that “the president of the republic, or one-fifth of the members of the House of Representatives, may request an amendment to one or more articles of the constitution.” The House of Representatives must consider such a request within 30 days of receiving it and decide whether to accept, in whole or in part, by a majority of its members.
Under Article 102, the president may appoint up to 5% of the members of the House of Representatives. In the current parliament, Sisi appointed 28 of 596, about 4.7% of the total.
The presidency wields considerable influence within the Egyptian parliament, where a majority supports Sisi, making it likely that legislation and decisions aligned with his policies will pass, while opportunities to oppose remain limited.
Moanis said he expected calls for constitutional change to have originated from within the government, supporters of the president or networks of vested interests.
When reaffirming his intention to hand over power at the end of his presidential term, Sisi spoke recently of having a number of people with doctoral degrees undergo 30 months of training at the Military Academy, from among whom a president could eventually be selected, along with ministers and governors.
The Egyptian Military Academy has become a key part of the appointment process for government positions in Egypt, including the judiciary, religious endowments, education and other sectors, since it was established in 2022.
Dr. Freddy El-Bayadi, vice president of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, called for opening the public sphere, guaranteeing media freedom, strengthening political parties and holding competitive elections, rather than reducing democracy to an effort to create conditions for the president to remain in power.
