Egypt's Sisi taking his time picking vice president
Egyptians are speculating about why the president has yet to appoint a vice president to fill in for him if necessary.
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi apparently plans to wait at least until October to appoint a vice president — a position being revived for the first time since Mohamed ElBaradei became acting vice president for a month in 2013.
Media reports shed light July 27-29 on the laws parliament will need to pass during its fifth and the last cycle (October 2019 to July 2020) as complementary legislation to constitutional amendments approved during the just-ended cycle. The amendments extend the president's term to six years from four and expand his powers, and introduce a Senate, among other changes.
During the fourth parliamentary cycle, parliament members started discussing the laws on electing a House of Representatives and Senate, yet there have been no new developments regarding amendments relating to the appointment of a vice president since they entered into force after a referendum passed in April.
More than 27 million Egyptians voted to approve the amendments, which parliament had approved earlier that month, by more than a two-thirds majority.
