Egypt parliament to vote to extend el-Sissi's rule this week

Egypt's parliament has rescheduled for this week its vote on proposed changes to the constitution that would allow President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stay in office well beyond his current term, which ends in 2020.

Parliament spokesman Ahmed Saad el-Din said on Sunday that the legislature would hold the crucial vote on Wednesday, instead of a scheduled meeting on February 17.

The 596-seat assembly had given its preliminary approval to the changes last week.

The motion is near-certain to be overwhelmingly approved by the legislature, which is packed with el-Sissi's supporters, but the amendments would also need to be put to a national referendum to become law.

The proposed amendments also include the introduction of the role of vice president and the reintroduction of a Senate, or upper chamber.