By Mohammad Baali
Albawaba.com – Cairo
Soaring numbers of Egyptian parliamentarians and government officials, 934 by the latest count, are facing legal attempts and parliamentary maneuvers to unseat them.
The most prominent suits involve lawmakers with dual nationality, such as businessman and independent MP Rami Lakah, in part because Egyptian laws do not clearly delineate the political rights of Egyptians with a foreign passport.
Lakah’s foes claim he is ineligible to hold office because he is a French national as well as an Egyptian, and have gone after him several times. However, the Egyptian courts have given only some of these plaintiffs hearings.
Others are being taken to court for the same alleged offense, but in the face of significant evidence to the contrary.
The list of MPs and officials under fire for allegedly holding dual nationality has included Minister of Economy Butros Ghali, Minister of Housing Ibrahim Suleiman, businessman Mohammed Abulenain, and Munir Fakhri Abdel Noor, the opposition Al Wafd Party’s parliamentary committee chief.
The opponents of these figures have insisted on filing suits despite being presented with documents from the passport department certifying that the targets of their ire did not hold citizenship in any other country.
Other targets include MPs “who did not serve in the military for age reasons,” since Egyptian laws state that draft-dodgers lose their right to hold seats in Parliament.
Parliament Speaker Fathi Srour himself was targeted on these grounds, despite presenting a document certifying that he had been exempted from military service.
Other suits cover a range of issues, from alleged changes to official place of residence to changes of electoral status.
By law, there are two electoral statuses, one for workers and another for other social classes. The Egyptian Constitution states that workers should fill at least 50 percent of the seats in the lower house of Parliament.
The most important parliamentarian to face a challenge due to alleged change of residence has been Sayyed Mishaal, the minister of military production and MP for Helwan Area.
The head of the Egyptian Trade Union, Assayed Rashed, was the most prominent MP challenged for allegedly changing his electoral status. Rashed allegedly signed a contract with a company after retirement to maintain his status as a “worker.”
Addressing Parliament’s general committee, Minister of Parliamentary and Shura Council Affairs Kamal Al Shazli demanded that the MPs quickly give final decisions regarding the cases and called upon any members found to be in the wrong to resign out of respect for the law.
For his part, the head of the ruling Democratic National Party’s parliamentary committee, Mahmoud Ali Hassan, urged the committee members to propose practical solutions to the problem – Albawaba.com
