The People's Assembly approved yesterday a bill amending the distribution of electoral constituences due to the creation of two new governorates. The amendment was proposed by Minister of State for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Mufid Shehab. Not everyone in parliament approved of the changes, however. Helwan MP Mostafa Bakri claimed the amendments aim to detach him from his electorate. "These modifications will turn 1.5 million citizens into adversaries of the regime," Bakri said. "The new law will itself work against the regime." Bakri said the amendment was approved by Intissar Nassim, chairman of the Supreme Electoral Commission, and prepared by the Ministry of Interior, which, he believes, is indicative of under-the-table deals. Bakri also revealed that he will run in the next elections against Minister of Military Production Sayyed Meshal. In related news, the People's Assembly decided that a sit-in protest staged in the assembly's hall by Bakri was a violation of parliamentary membership rules. PA speaker Fathi Sorour asked security to put an end to Bakri's sit-in, saying the Helwan MP was a prominent journalist and representative and should therefore not be protesting. Bakri later yielded to requests by fellow representatives to end his sit-in. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
