An Egyptian court has scheduled a hearing later this month on a petition demanding constitutional changes that would allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to seek re-election beyond his second term, state news agency MENA reported on Friday. Speculation has been rife that Egyptian authorities will seek changes to the constitution, which limits a president to two four-year terms in office, since Sisi’s re-election in March in a vote against a marginal opponent.
MENA said a Cairo court had set Dec. 23 to hear a petition by a number of citizens demanding that the parliament speaker call a session to “amend the text of article 140 of the constitution”, which sets presidential term limits. “(The petitioners are demanding) that this article be amended to allow the re-election of the president for similar periods so long that the people approve this through a referendum that all elements of the nation are invited to participate in,” the agency said.
