Executive Authority
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Executive Authority ![]()
- Constitution of Egypt
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Executive Authority
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Section 1: The President
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Article 132: Mandate
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| The President is the head of state and chief of the executive branch of government.He defends the interests of the people, safeguards the independence and territorialintegrity of the motherland, and protects the separation of powers.
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| He carries out his responsibilities in the manner prescribed in the Constitution.
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Article 133: Term
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| The President of the Republic is elected for a period of four calendar years,commencing on the day the term of his predecessor ends. The President may only bere-elected once.
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| The process of the presidential election begins at least 90 days before the end of thepresidential term. The result is to be announced at least 10 days before the end of term.
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| The President of the Republic may not hold any partisan position for the duration ofthe presidency.
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Article 134: Eligibility
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| A presidential candidate must be Egyptian born to Egyptian parents, must havecarried no other citizenship, must have civil and political rights, cannot be married toa non-Egyptian, and at the time of nomination cannot be younger than 40 Gregorian years.
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Article 135: Conditions for nomination
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| A prerequisite for nomination to the presidency is a recommendation by at least 20elected members of the Council of Representatives and of the Shura Council, orendorsements from at least 20,000 citizens who have the right to vote, in at least 10governorates, with a minimum of 1,000 endorsements from each governorate.
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| No one can endorse more than one candidate. This is organised by law.
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Article 136: Method of election
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| The President of the Republic is elected by direct secret ballot, with an absolutemajority of valid votes. The procedures for electing the President of the Republic areregulated by law.
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Article 137: Oath
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| Before assuming the presidential position, the President of the Republic takes thefollowing oath before the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council: “I swearby Almighty God to loyally uphold the republican system, to respect the Constitutionand the law, to fully look after the interests of the people and to safeguard theindependence and territorial integrity of the motherland.”
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| In case the Council of Representatives is dissolved, the oath is to be taken before theShura Council.
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Article 138: Finances
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| The finances of the President of the Republic are stipulated by law. The Presidentcannot receive any other salary or remuneration, nor engage throughout thepresidential term, whether in person or through an intermediary, in an independentprofession or business, nor is the President allowed to buy or rent state property,nor lease or sell to or barter with the state any part of their own property, norconclude a contract with the state as vendor, supplier or contractor.
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| The President must submit to the Council of Representatives a financial disclosureupon taking office, upon leaving it, and at the end of each year.
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| If, in relation to the presidential post, the President receives, in person or through anintermediary, cash or in-kind gifts, such gifts are transferred to the state treasury.
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| The foregoing is organised by law.
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Article 139: Government formation
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| The President of the Republic nominates the Prime Minister, who is assigned by thePresident the task of forming a government and presenting its programme to theCouncil of Representatives within 30 days. If the government is not grantedconfidence, the President appoints another prime minister from the party that holdsa plurality seats in the Council of Representatives. If the second nominee does notobtain confidence within a similar period, the Council of Representatives appoints aPrime Minister who is assigned by the President the task of forming a government,provided said government obtains parliamentary confidence within a similar period.Otherwise, the President of the Republic dissolves the Council of Representativesand call the elections of a new Council of Representatives within 60 days from thedate the dissolution is announced.
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| In all cases, the sum of the periods set forth in this Article should not exceed 90 days.
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| In the case the Council of Representatives is dissolved, the Prime Minister presentsthe government and its programme to the new Council of Representatives at its firstsession.
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Article 140: Establishing the state’s public policy
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| The President of the Republic, in cooperation with the government, lays out thestate’s public policy and oversees its implementation, in the manner prescribed inthe Constitution.
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Article 141: Agency through the government
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| The President of the Republic exercises presidential authority via the PrimeMinister, his deputies and ministers, except those authorities related to defense,national security and foreign policy, and the authorities set out in Articles 139, 145,146, 147, 148 and 149 of the Constitution.
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Article 142: Delegation of authority
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| The President of the Republic may delegate part of his mandate to the PrimeMinister, to his deputies, to ministers or governors. This will be organised by law.
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Article 143: Power to call government meetings
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| The President of the Republic may call for government meetings to discussimportant matters, presides over such meetings, and requests reports about publicaffairs from the Prime Minister.
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Article 144: Statement on the state’s general policy
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| The President of the Republic delivers a statement on the state’s general policy in ajoint session of the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council at the openingof their regular annual sessions.
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| The President may, when appropriate, make other statements or convey specificmessages to either Council.
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Article 145: Foreign relations
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| The President of the Republic represents the state in foreign relations and concludestreaties and ratifies them after the approval of the Council of Representatives andthe Shura Council. Such treaties have the force of law after ratification andpublication, according to established procedures.
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| Approval must be acquired from both chambers with a two-thirds majority of theirmembers for any treaty of peace, alliance, trade and navigation, and all treatiesrelated to the rights of sovereignty or that make the state treasury liable for anyexpenditures not included in its annual state budget.
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| No treaty contrary to the provisions of the Constitution can be approved.
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Article 146: Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
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| The President of the Republic is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. ThePresident cannot declare war, or send the armed forces outside state territory,except after consultation with the National Defense Council and the approval of theCouncil of Representatives with a majority of its members.
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Article 147: Appointment of civil and military personnel
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| The President of the Republic appoints civil and military personnel and dismissesthem, appoints diplomatic representatives and removes them, and confirms politicalrepresentatives of foreign countries and organizations. This is organised by law.
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Article 148: State of emergency
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| The President of the Republic declares, after consultation with the government, astate of emergency in the manner regulated by law. Such proclamation must besubmitted to Council of Representatives within the following seven days.
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| If the declaration takes place when the Council of Representatives is not in session, asession is called immediately in order to consider the declaration. In case the Councilof Representatives is dissolved, the matter is submitted to the Shura Council, allwithin the period specified in the preceding paragraph. The declaration of a state ofemergency must be approved by a majority of members of each chamber. Thedeclaration is for a specified period not exceeding six months, which can only beextended by another similar period upon the people’s approval in a publicreferendum.
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| The Council of Representatives cannot be dissolved while a state of emergency is inplace.
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Article 149: Pardon and amnesty
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| The President of the Republic may issue a pardon or mitigate a sentence. General amnesty may only be granted in a law.
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Article 150: Referenda
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| The President of the Republic may call for a referendum on important issues relatingto the supreme interests of the state.
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| If the call for a referendum relates to more than one issue, the people must vote oneach individual issue.
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| The results of a referendum are binding to all state authorities and the general publicin all cases.
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Article 151: Resignation
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| For the President of the Republic to resign, a letter of resignation must be presentedto the Council of Representatives.
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Article 152: Treason
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| A charge of felony or treason against the President of the Republic is to be based ona motion signed by at least one-third of the members of the Council ofRepresentatives. An impeachment is to be issued only by a two-thirds majority of themembers of the Council of Representatives.
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| As soon as an impeachment decision has been issued, the President of the Republicceases all work; this is treated as a temporary obstacle preventing the Presidentfrom carrying out presidential duties until a verdict is reached.
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| The President of the Republic is tried before a special court headed by the presidentof the Supreme Judicial Council, the longest-serving deputies of the president of theSupreme Constitutional Court and of the State Council, and the two longest-servingpresidents of the Court of Appeals; the prosecution to be carried out before suchcourt by the Prosecutor General. If any of the foregoing individuals are preventedfrom leaving their positions, they are replaced by order of seniority.
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| The law organizes the investigation and the trial procedures. In the case ofconviction, the President of the Republic is relieved of his post, without prejudice toother penalties.
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Article 153: Incapacity
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| If on account of a temporary obstacle, the President of the Republic is renderedunable to carry out the presidential functions, the Prime Minister acts in his place.
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| If the Presidential office becomes vacant, due to resignation, death, permanentinability to work or any other reason, the Council of Representatives announces thevacancy and notifies the Presidential Elections Commission. The Speaker of theCouncil of Representatives temporarily assumes the presidential authorities.
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| In the event the foregoing takes place, the Shura Council and its Speaker replacesthe Council of Representatives and its Speaker in cases the Council ofRepresentatives is dissolved.
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| In all cases, a new president must be elected during a period not exceeding 90 days from the date the office became vacant.
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| The person acting in place of the President is not allowed to run for office, requestany amendment to the Constitution, dissolve the Parliament or dismiss the government.
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Article 154: Vacancy
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| If the vacancy of the presidential office occurs at the same time that a referendum orthe election of either the Council of Representatives or the Shura Council is beingheld, the presidential elections are given priority. The existing parliament continuesin place until the completion of the presidential elections.
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Section 2: The Government
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Article 155: Composition
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| The government consists of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister’s deputies andthe ministers.
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| The Prime Minister heads the government, oversees its work, and directs it in theperformance of its functions.
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Article 156: Conditions of membership
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| A person appointed to the position of Prime Minister or any other position in thegovernment must be an Egyptian citizen, enjoying civil and political rights, over theage of 30, and not having carried the citizenship of any other country unlessrenounced within a year of reaching the age of eighteen.
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| It is prohibited to hold a position in the government in addition to membership ineither the Council of Representatives or the Shura Council. If a member of eitherchamber is appointed to the government, his place in parliament is vacated and theprovisions of Article 113 of the Constitution are applied.
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Article 157: Oath
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| Before assuming their duties, the Prime Minister and members of government takethe following oath before the President of the Republic: “I swear by Almighty God toloyally uphold the republican system, to respect the Constitution and the law, to fullylook after the interests of the people and to safeguard the independence andterritorial integrity of the motherland.”
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Article 158: Finances
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| The finances of the Prime Minister and members of government are stipulated bylaw. They cannot receive any other salary or remuneration, nor engage throughoutthe term of their posts, whether in person or through an intermediary, inindependent professions or business. Nor are they allowed to buy or rent stateproperty, nor lease or sell to or barter with the state any part of their own property,nor conclude a contract with the state as vendors, suppliers or contractors.
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| A member of government must submit a financial disclosure to the Council ofRepresentatives upon taking office, upon leaving it and at the end of each year.
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| If, in relation to their posts, they should receive cash or in-kind gifts, such gifts aretransferred to the state treasury. The foregoing is organised by law.
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Article 159: Mandate
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| The government exercises the following functions in particular:
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| 1.Collaborate with the President of the Republic in laying down the publicpolicy of the state and overseeing its implementation.
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| 2.Direct, coordinate and follow up on the work of the ministries and theiraffiliated public bodies and organizations.
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| 3.Prepare draft laws and decrees.
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| 4.Issue administrative decisions in accordance with the law, and monitortheir implementation.
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| 5.Prepare the draft annual state budget law.
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| 6.Prepare the draft development plan of the state.
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| 7.Contract and grant loans in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
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| 8.Supervise the implementation of laws, maintain state security and protectthe rights of the citizens and the interests of the state.
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Article 160: General policy of individual ministries
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| The Minister draws up his ministry’s general policy, supervises its implementationand offers guidance and control, in the framework of the state’s public policy.
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Article 161: Statements before the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council
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| A government member may make a statement before the Council ofRepresentatives, the Shura Council, or one of their committees, concerning anymatters within their mandate.
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| The chamber or the committee may discuss such a statement and convey its position regarding it.
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Article 162: Issuance of regulations
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| The Prime Minister issues necessary regulations for the enforcement of laws, in sucha manner that does not involve any disruption, modification, or exemption from theirenforcement, and has the right to vest others with the authority to issue them, unlessthe law designates who should issue the necessary regulations for its own implementation.
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Article 163: Issuance of regulations on public services
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| The Prime Minister issues the regulations necessary for the creation andorganization of public services and facilities upon the government’s approval. TheCouncil of Representatives' approval is required, if such regulations result in newexpenditures in the annual state budget.
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Article 164: Disciplinary regulations
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| The Prime Minister issues disciplinary regulations upon the government’s approval.
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