Mubarak makes new appointments
2005-12-12 14:34
Cairo - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak issued a decree on Monday appointing 10 MPs, including five women and five Copts, a week after the month-long parliamentary elections wound up.
According to the constitution, 444 out of the 454 deputies in the People's Assembly are directly elected and the other 10 are appointed by the president.
Only one Copt, Finance Minister Yusef Butros Ghali, was elected although Christian leaders claim their community accounts for 10% of Egypt's 73 million inhabitants.
The appointments bring to six the number of Coptic MPs and to nine the total number of women in parliament.
According to official results announced over the weekend by Justice Minister Mahmud Abu Leil, Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party obtained 311 seats, including party members who initially ran as independents.
The month-long elections that wound up on Wednesday also saw spectacular gains by the officially banned Muslim Brotherhood, which secured 88 seats, six times its tally in the outgoing parliament.
Turn-out for the legislative polls - which were marred by widespread violence and voter obstruction - stood at 26.2%, according to official figures.
Another 12 seats have yet to be allocated in re-runs, for which a date has not yet been set.
A new parliament speaker was also expected to be chosen Monday, while the inaugural session of the People's Assembly is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.