Is Egypt’s leader planning to stay in office indefinitely?
Egypt’s opposition leaders reject a move in parliament to extend President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s term in office.
There is an alarm in Egypt over the proposed changes to the constitution.
A parliamentary panel has approved a six-year term for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It also allows the 64-year-old leader to run for third and fourth terms.
The amendments will be put to vote in parliament later this month. This will be followed by a national referendum.
If the amendments become law, they could allow President Sisi to stay in office until 2034 – well after the official end of his second term in 2022.
So, is Egypt heading for a one-party rule?
Presenter: Peter Dobbie
Guests:
Timothy Kaldas – Non-resident fellow, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy
Mohamad Elmasry – Associate professor & Chair of the Journalism Program, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
James Moran – Associate senior research fellow at the Centre For European Policy Studies and a former EU Ambassador to Egypt, Jordan & Yemen