Egypt lawmakers pass amendments now headed to referendum

Egypt's parliament on Tuesday passed amendments to the constitution that could see President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi remain in power until 2030.

The vote, which sends the amendments to a national referendum, was seen by critics as another step back to authoritarianism, eight years after a pro-democracy uprising ended autocrat Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.

The 596-member assembly, packed with el-Sissi's supporters, overwhelmingly gave its initial approval in February, sending it to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee to finalize the wording before Tuesday's final vote.

Of the 554 lawmakers who attended the session, 531 voted "yes," 22 voted "no" and one abstained.

"Today we are concluding what we started in February," speaker Ali Abdel-Al said at the beginning of the session. "In this great day, we offer to the Egyptian people a draft bill of the constitutional amendments."
Justifying this clause, speaker Abdel-Al said it was aimed at "political justice ... and the required stability."
Lawmaker Ahmed Khalil said his Salafi Nour party, which promotes strict adherence to sharia law, rejected the proposed changes because the constitution states that Egypt is a civilian state, which is understood by some people as a "secular country."