How many houses does Egypt's legislature need?
Proposals to revive Egypt’s Shura Council are stirring controversy over whether the body would help or hinder the legislative process.
CAIRO — Some members of Egypt's parliament are lobbying — once again — for the return to a bicameral legislature by reinstating the Shura Council, which was the structure under former President Hosni Mubarak.
The Shura Council's experts were tasked with discussing draft laws and the state general budget. After having been dissolved by interim President Adly Mansour in 2013, the body was permanently abolished when a committee drafting the 2014 Egyptian Constitution determined the number of parliament members was becoming a financial burden on the state. Committee members also said the bureaucracy and red tape involved in continuing to have two houses could hinder the promulgation of laws.
