Egyptian MPs held several meetings on Monday and Tuesday to elect officers for parliament's 25 committees. While some high profile MPs affiliated with the Support Egypt parliamentary bloc have been elected to head at least 16 committees, others were able to win for the first time. MPs affiliated with the Wafd, Free Egyptians, and Future of a Homeland parties also won leading posts. Mohamed El-Sewedi, a business tycoon who was elected head of the Support Egypt bloc on Saturday, told reporters that the bloc had refused to field candidates for every parliamentary committee. "We wanted competitive elections and we wanted all political factions to get leading posts on the committees' boards," said El-Sewedi. The high-profile Support Egypt winners are: Osama Heikal, a former information minister and the current chairman of the Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC), was re-elected unopposed as head of parliament's Media, Culture and Antiquities Committee. Alexandria businesswoman Sahar Talaat Mostafa won unopposed as head of the Tourism and Civil Aviation Committee. Mostafa's late father, Talaat, was a founder of a leading construction company and an MP in the 1990s. Alexandria industrialist Mohamed Farag Amer was also re-elected unopposed as head of the Youth and Sports Committee. Amer already chairs Alexandria's Smouha Sporting Club. Appointed MP, Hussein Eissa was re-elected chairman of the influential Budget and Planning Committee. Eissa, a professor of commerce and former president of Ain Shams University, won unopposed. Another number of high-profile MPs were re-elected, including Mubarak-era politician Saad El-Gammal as head of the Arab Affairs Committee; former chief of military intelligence Kamal Amer as head of the Defence and National Security Committee; Wafd party lawyer Bahaaeddin Abu Shokka as head of the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee; business tycoon Talaat El-Sewedi as head of the Energy and Environment Committee; lawyer and parliamentary spokesman of the Free Egyptians Party Alaa Abed as head of the Human Rights Committee; and former head of Al-Azhar University Osama El-Abd as head of the Religious Affairs Committee. Other committees saw stiff competition that led to the changing of heads. Tarek Radwan, the head of the parliamentary group of MPs affiliated with the liberal Free Egyptians Party, was elected head of the Foreign Affairs Committee instead of independent MP Ahmed Said. Sayed Feleifel, an appointed MP and an expert on African affairs, was elected head of the African Affairs Committee instead of independent leftist MP Mostafa El-Guindi. Mohamed El-Amari, a professor of surgery and a Support Egypt official, was elected head of the Health Affairs Committee instead of MP Magdi Morshed. Hesham Abdel-Wahed, a member of the Future of a Homeland Party, was elected head of the Transport and Communications Committee instead of Saeed Taima. Hesham El-Shiini, an MP affiliated with the Free Egyptians Party in Upper Egypt, was re-elected head of the Agriculture, Irrigation, Food Security and Animal Wealth Committee. Real estate tycoon and independent MP Moataz Mahmoud was elected head of the Housing, Public Utilities and Reconstruction Committee instead of Alaa Wali. Chairman of the General Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions Gibali El-Maraghi was re-elected head of the Labour Force Committee. Ahmed Samir, an industrial engineer affiliated with the Support Egypt bloc, was re-elected head of the Industrial Committee. Hamam El-Adli, an Upper Egypt MP, was elected head of the Complaints and Proposals Committee. Amr Ghallab, also an Upper Egypt MP, was re-elected head of the Economic Affairs Committee. Mohamed Ali Youssef, an independent MP, was re-elected head of the Small Projects Committee. Abdel-Hadi El-Qassabi, leader of the Sufi sects community in Egypt, was re-elected of the Social Solidarity and Family Committee. Ahmed El-Sigini, an MP affiliated with the Wafd Party, was re-elected head of the Local Administration Committee. Gamal Shiha, an appointed MP and liver disease doctor, was re-elected head of the Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Committee. Nidal El-Said, an MP affiliated with the Future of a Homeland Party, was re-elected head of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Committee.
