January 10 – Egypt’s national electoral body announced on Saturday the results for the final 49 seats in parliamentary elections that began more than three months ago, giving President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the absolute majority needed to amend the constitution.
The final seat results were hampered by re-polls in constituencies where the initial results had been annulled.
Although electoral authorities did not list the party affiliation of the elected candidates, the results are not believed to change the overall composition of parliament, which will be overwhelmingly controlled by Sisi’s supporters.
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Last week, Egypt’s National Information Service said opposition parties and independents were expected to occupy 158 of the 568 elected seats, or about 28%. The president also appointed an additional 5% of seats, bringing the total to 596 seats. Amending the constitution requires a two-thirds majority.
(Reporting by Cairo Bureau Editing by Peter Graf)
