Egypt gears up for referendum
Egypt’s House of Representatives will hold a final vote on the constitutional amendments April 16, before Egyptians at home and abroad vote in a referendum.
CAIRO — Egyptians will vote in late April in a referendum on the constitutional amendments that the House of Representatives have been considering. Wide political support was given to these amendments during the discussions "under the dome," as Egyptians call the parliament building, where the final vote is scheduled for April 16-17.
Al-Monitor learnt from multiple parliamentary and partisan sources that the election of a 300-member Senate, which would be reinstated under the amendments, will be held before the end of 2019, most likely in the last quarter of the year.
The sources, who declined to be named, said it was decided that 100 members of the Senate would be appointed by the president, while the other 200 would be elected according to a mechanism that will be specified in the electoral law. They revealed that the head of the parliamentary Legislative Committee, Bahaa Abou Chaka, would most likely be appointed to chair the Senate.
Egyptians living abroad will cast their vote on April 19-21, and the nationwide referendum will be held on April 22-24.
