MPs may have tabled a record number of interpellations but few are likely to be discussed, reports Gamal Essam El-Din The number of interpellations -- questions that must be answered by the government -- submitted in the new parliamentary session has already reached the unprecedented number of 76 as opposition and independent MPs signal their determination to embarrass the government of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif. They accuse his administration of deliberately circumventing parliament whenever possible and of painting a far too rosy picture of economic conditions. On Saturday the People's Assembly met to discuss a timetable for submitted interpellations. As expected, the bulk of questions focussed on economic issues, singling out cabinet members who hold economic portfolios for criticism. The economic interpellations raise six issues: the alleged import of huge quantities of substandard wheat; the dramatic rise in inflation and the government's failure to bring it under control; the alleged spread of corruption in privatisation deals; the misappropriation of public funds for development projects; an increase in monopolies and the growing number of people living below the poverty line. Other interpellations raise political issues such as the rigging of parliamentary elections, torture in prison cells and police stations, and the Israeli murder of Egyptian prisoners of war in 1956, 1967 and 1973. Fixing the timetable for discussion of the 76 interpellations entailed a stormy confrontation between MPs and parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorour. Sorour opened the meeting by informing MPs that the assembly's General Committee (which includes Sorour, his two deputies and the chairmen of the assembly's 19 committees) met on 13 November and decided all future interpellations "be submitted to a sub-committee charged with examining their content and ways in which they might be discussed". The reason for this, he continued, was that during parliament's procedural session on 12 November opposition and independent MPs had rushed to submit as many questions as possible. "The number we received topped 83 in one day," he added. To the dismay of opposition and independent MPs, Sorour said the sub-committee, headed by the assembly's deputy speaker Zeinab Radwan, had decided that seven interpellations could not be listed for discussion. "According to precedent," explained Sorour, "interpellations must be corroborated by official documents. Those supported solely by newspaper clippings have been excluded." There was even worse news for opposition and independent MPs. Interpellations dealing with the same subject, Sorour told them, must be discussed in the same session. "This means the debate of each interpellation will be limited to 30 minutes and if more than one interpellation is to be debated in one meeting, the limit will be reduced to 20 minutes." Sorour also indicated that the assembly's bureau will decide which interpellations are discussed. "The bureau, headed by me, will decide which interpellations deal with urgent issues and give them priority for discussion." The General Committee's decisions, endorsed by NDP deputies, left opposition and independent MPs in uproar. Independent MP Kamal Ahmed accused the NDP-dominated General Committee of violating the constitution. "Constitutional Article 125 states that every MP is entitled to table interpellations to the prime minister or one of his deputies, and to ministers or their deputies, concerning matters within their jurisdiction," said Ahmed. "The article does not state that a parliamentary sub-committee be vested with the right to decide on interpellations. These new regulations strip MPs of one of their basic supervisory roles." Opposition and independent MPs rallied behind Ahmed, claiming that the NDP was coordinating with the government in an attempt to reduce the assembly's supervisory powers. Wafdist MP Mohamed Abdel-Alim Dawoud objected to the decision not to accept interpellations supported by newspaper stories. "This casts doubts over the credibility of newspapers and ignores the fact that the government seldom provides MPs with information on serious issues." Independent MP Talaat El-Sadat argued that 20 or 30 minutes was insufficient time to present an interpellation and pointed out that the time allotted to questions was already so limited that many cabinet ministers escaped parliamentary interrogation altogether. Defending the new rules Sorour said imposing new conditions was necessary to strike a balance between the assembly's supervisory and legislative roles. Meanwhile, NDP MPs united against Muslim Brotherhood MPs' requests to discuss what they said were four pressing issues of public concern: the impact of the global financial crisis on pension funds; the administrative justice court's 18 November decision not to export gas to Israel; the Israeli siege of Gaza and the increase in acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Ahmed Ezz, NDP secretary for organisational affairs and chairman of the assembly's Budget Committee, proposed that the debate on pension funds be postponed to next January. "This will be more convenient since it is in January that we receive the reports of the Central Auditing Agency on the performance of pension funds and other sectors," Ezz told MPs. Brotherhood MP Ahmed Diab urged parliament to send a delegation to Rafah. "The European Parliament did this to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and we should also do the same," said Diab. NDP MP Saad El-Gammal argued that the issue would be better discussed by the assembly's Arab Affairs Committee. "It is not the concern of individual groups or parties but of all Egypt," he argued. Brotherhood MP Hussein Ibrahim criticised the government for not acting on 18 November's court ruling ordering it to inform parliament about the price of gas sold to Israel. Ezz responded by indicating that the matter had already been discussed by parliament on several occasions. Speaker Sorour then said he had asked the prime minister and minister of petroleum to send a copy of the gas export agreement with Israel to parliament. On piracy, Ezz argued the National Security and Defence Committee was the most appropriate venue for any debate while Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab said Egypt was ready to use every means, including force, to end the phenomenon.
