An Egyptian parliamentary panel has approved a proposal to amend the country’s constitution that will extend the presidential term from four years to six.
This means President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi may be able to stay in power beyond 2022, when his second term in office ends.
Parliament’s speaker Ali Abdel-Al on Tuesday said two thirds of the 596-seat legislature endorsed the proposed amendment.
The motion was submitted on Sunday after approval by a required fifth of the chamber’s 596 MPs, the vast majority of whom are Sisi supporters.
Abdel-Al said on the same day that the amendments “are rooted in the interest of both the state and the Egyptian people”.