In a recent session, Egyptian Parliament Speaker, Counselor Hisham Badawi, referred several important bills to their respective committees for review. These included a law to ratify the final account of the state's general budget for the fiscal year 2025/2026 and similar accounts for 63 economic public sector entities and the National War Production Authority. All these were referred to the Planning and Budget Committee.
Additionally, the parliament speaker referred a government-proposed bill to amend certain provisions of the Education Law No. 139 of 1981. This bill was referred to a joint committee comprising the Education and Scientific Research Committee and the offices of the Labor and Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committees. Another bill to amend certain provisions of Law No. 103 of 1961 regarding the reorganization of Al-Azhar and related entities was also referred.
The referred bills aim to modify existing laws to better suit current needs. The Education Law amendments, for instance, could bring about significant changes in the country's education sector. Similarly, changes to the Al-Azhar Law could impact the institution's structure and operations. These bills will undergo thorough examination by the respective committees before being put to a vote in the plenary session.
In a related development, the Egyptian Parliament announced that it had received a message from the Prime Minister regarding the withdrawal of five government-proposed laws. These laws, once withdrawn, will no longer be considered by the parliament. The decision to withdraw them was made by the Council of Ministers.
The withdrawn bills include a law on exempting business owners and insured individuals from additional amounts due to the National Social Security Authority. Another bill aimed to modify certain provisions of Law No. 233 of 1996, which concerns the continuation of using the last general estimate as a basis for calculating agricultural land tax.
Two more bills that were withdrawn pertain to amendments to the Private and Private Higher Education Law No. 12 of 2009. The fifth withdrawn bill concerned the establishment of a Digital Egypt Fund. The reasons behind the withdrawal of these bills were not disclosed.
The Egyptian Parliament's move to refer certain bills to committees and withdraw others demonstrates its continuous effort to review and refine the country's legislative framework. This process ensures that laws passed are well-vetted and effective in addressing the needs of the Egyptian people.
Key points
- The Egyptian Parliament has referred several key bills to specialized committees for review and announced the withdrawal of five government-proposed laws.
- The referred bills include amendments to the Education Law and the Al-Azhar Law, which could bring about significant changes in their respective sectors.
- The withdrawn bills covered topics such as social security, agricultural land tax, private education, and digital infrastructure.
