Egyptian lawmakers approve constitutional changes extending presidential term

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-14 23:07:52|Editor: yan
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CAIRO, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian parliament overwhelmingly voted on Thursday for proposed constitutional amendments that will extend the presidential term from four to six years.

After the approval of the House of Representatives, the constitutional amendments still need to go through a national referendum for final ratification.

Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said that 485 out of total 596 parliament members voted for the proposed amendments.

The amendments have been requested earlier this month by "Support Egypt" pro-government parliamentary bloc, seeking to increase the presidential term, introduce the post of vice president and establish a senate as a second chamber of the parliament next to the House of Representatives.

The proposed amendments also allow current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to join the next presidential election after his second term ends in 2022.

Article 140 of Egypt's 2014 constitution limits presidency to two consecutive four-year terms, while Article 226 allows the head of state or one-fifth of the parliament members to request amendment of one or more articles of the constitution.

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