Egypt’s House of Representatives elects pro-Sisi candidate as new speaker

Egypt’s House of Representatives elected Hisham Badawi as the new Speaker of the country’s House of Representatives after securing 521 out of 570 votes on Monday, defeating his main opponent from the Egyptian Social Democratic party.

Badawi has held positions ranging from a judge at the Cairo Court of Appeal to his most recent appointment as chairman of the Central Auditing Organisation, tasked with overseeing public finance matters.

He is widely considered to be loyal to the regime of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, playing a key judicial role in the coup that ousted the late democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi.

Badawi served as the first attorney general of the Supreme State Security Prosecution, set up after the coup of June 2013. In that role, he oversaw investigations into cases involving leading opposition figures and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, many of which resulted in severe sentences, including life imprisonment and death penalties.

The opening session of the parliament’s third legislative term was moved to the new hall in the new administrative capital, often considered as one of Sisi’s “megaprojects” costing around 500 billion Egyptian pounds ($10.6 billion).

The country is estimated to have reached $161.2 billion in external debt, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt in June last year.

Badawi is one of the 28 members appointed to Parliament by Sisi this week, as results released by the country’s election body on Saturday showed pro-government members dominating the results of the months-long parliamentary election.

The multi-phase vote that began last November, considered as the longest in the country’s history lasting 99 days, had a voter turnout of 32.41%, which critics argue reflect the general voter apathy in a country dominated by unfair electoral processes and a lack of political representation.

More than 30 constituencies were forced to hold a re-run of voting procedures in the months of November and December following appeals over counting procedures.

Despite the Egyptian constitution currently limiting a president’s term to a maximum of three, many believe Sisi aims to change legislation to allow him to extend his final term until at least 2030.

The next set of parliamentarians, therefore, will be key in paving the way for the constitution amendment, essentially extending Sisi’s hold on power.