20A to Cabinet this week

The draft 20th Amendment (20A) to the Constitution Bill is to be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow.

The preliminary draft Bill has been sent to the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice as well as the Attorney General (AG) and after scrutiny by the AG, the draft Bill is to be submitted to Cabinet of Ministers, the Daily FT learns.

The 20th Amendment will replace the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which was enacted in May 2015 and while some of its provisions will be retained, the powers of the Executive which were scaled down by 19A will be restored even though the two-term limit on the presidency will remain.

Justice Minister Ali Sabry is also expected to submit a proposal to Cabinet this week to set up a Committee to be tasked with drafting a new Constitution. (CK)