Egypt's Senate will get down to business on Sunday by holding an opening procedural meeting after its election in August and September. The meeting will be headed by Galal Haridi, founder of the Guardians of the Nation Party, in his capacity as the Senate's most senior member. Two young members will also join Haridi in running the opening meeting. Haridi, 91, is a retired army officer who is widely considered as the founder of the Egyptian commandoes in 1955. He cofounded the Guardians of the Nation Party in 2013. The Senate's opening meeting will begin with reading out a number of decrees related to the formation of the second chamber. These will include president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's two decrees on the Senate holding its opening meeting on 18 October and the naming of 100 appointees. The decrees issued by the National Elections Authority (NEA) on the invitation to and the results of the election of the Senate in August and September will be also read out. The above procedures will be followed by each of the chamber's 300 members taking the constitutional oath: "I swear by Almighty God that I do my best to preserve the republican system, respect the constitution and laws, fully observe the interests of the people, and preserve the independence, unity and integrity of the homeland." Members will then move to the next step, that is electing a speaker and two deputies in a secret ballot in line with article 4 of the Senate's law (141/2020). All members have the right to run for the three posts. Each hopeful candidate should take the floor and deliver a brief statement about his political background and experience and why he/she wishes to win the post. The Senate's opening meeting will be held at the headquarters of the Shura Council which was dissolved in 2013. Informed sources said the Mostaqbal Watan party, which holds the majority of seats in the Senate, is expected to nominate its head Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razek, a former chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court, as the speaker of the Senate.
