CAIRO (Updated) - Egypt's Kamal el-Ganzouri government may shortly face a parliamentary no-confidence motion as the People's Assembly agreed Sunday to go ahead with procedures conducive to initiating such a move. At a markedly stormy session Sunday to debate the consequences of the NGOs foreign funding case, the People's Assembly (parliament) demanded the identification of officials who should be held accountable for the travel of foreign defendants in that case, and also recommended that the International Co-operation Ministry be dissolved. The parliament move, largely indicative of political dynamism in post-January Revolution Egypt, is most likely to bring the Ganzouri government under increased pressure that might ultimately drive it to resign or be replaced. Speaker Saad el-Katatni asked MPAs to vote on the idea of withdrawing confidence from the el-Ganzouri government after parliamentarians had called for its resignation, during a session called to debate the government's handling of a probe into civil society groups, including US-based organisations. In a show of hands during the televised session, almost every MPA voted in favour of the motion. "The chamber agreed,” el-Katatni said after the vote. Under Egypt's existing system of government, it would be up to the military council to sack el-Ganzouri and appoint a new cabinet. The military council has been exercising presidential powers since former president Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power a year ago. It was not immediately clear when the vote of no confidence will take place. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party is the biggest group in the new parliament, with 43 per cent of the seats. The group have been calling for a new coalition government reflecting the make-up of parliament. Meanwhile, Fayza Abul Naga, Egypt's Minister of International Co-operation, has rejected the criticism of her role in the unlicensed NGOs case. MPs Sunday harshly criticised Minister Fayza, blaming her for an intense crisis in Egypt-US relations. "I reject these personal 'accusations'. The Ministry is responsible for administering foreign funds and loans, obtained by Egypt. The Ministry has regulations for doing this," said Abul Naga, according to the Middle East News Agency (MENA) Also at Sunday's session, PA Speaker Katatni said that the parliament stands to reject any attempts to interfere in the country's sovereignty and judicial system. “The people of Egypt”, he said, “will not tolerate or permit any such interference or attempts to prejudice laws.” He was apparently referring to the March 1 departure of six American defendants in a case of 43 employees of non-profit groups accused of using illegal foreign funds to foment unrest in Egypt. The US threatened to cut off aid to Egypt over the issue. The judge who presided over the trial's opening hearing on Feb. 26 excused himself late last month, citing uneasiness. Judge Mahmoud Mohamed Shukri later said in comments to the media that he quit to protest political meddling in the case, which is now being tried by another court, also in Cairo. Suggesting that a crisis was looming between the legislature and the government, el-Katatni adjourned the session until today after a two-hour break. He said cabinet ministers scheduled to answer lawmakers' questions failed to show up. "It seems that the government is pushing for a crisis with parliament," el-Katatni said. Inputs from news agencies
