29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2001
Issue No.562
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2001 Issue No.562 |
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Rules of interpellation
Opposition MPs are disgruntled by a decision which, they believe, is intended to prevent them from directing embarrassing questions to cabinet ministers. Gamal Essam El-Din reports
As many as 60 opposition and independent MPs are in an uproar following People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour's tentative rejection of 12 interpellations -- questions that must be answered by cabinet ministers -- from the floor. Sorour's action followed his announcement on 17 November, the first day parliament convened, that the Assembly's General Committee, in line with parliament's internal statutes (Article 415), had decided that no interpellations be debated unless they were corroborated by attached documents.
Sorour, speaking to parliamentary correspondents a few days later, said the move was necessary to ensure that the interpellations have a sound basis. "Interpellations are the strongest supervisory tool in parliament's possession because they usually level charges against cabinet ministers. Consequently, deputies should be armed with documents to prove that the charges contained in these interpellations have a foundation," Sorour said.
Sorour, recalling that nine interpellations were debated by the outgoing session, said that "the charges contained in most of them appeared to be aimed at defaming certain public figures for personal interests." Sorour noted that on 8 November, the prosecutor-general announced that the corruption charges against Sameh El-Torgoman, chairman of the Cairo Stock Exchange, based on a parliamentary interpellation submitted in May by independent MP Kamal Ahmed, were groundless.
But opposition and independent MPs were not convinced. Mohamed El-Badrashini, an independent MP with Nasserist sympathies, said the decision will only serve businessmen "whose corrupt practices are well known to every Egyptian without having to see corroborating documents."
El-Badri Farghali, a leftist MP, argued that the decision violates the constitution. "The constitution (Article 125) states that every MP is entitled to table interpellations to the prime minister or his deputies, ministers or their deputies, concerning matters within their jurisdiction. The article does not add that these interpellations must be backed by documents," Farghali said.
At least two of the tentatively rejected interpellations are directed at Youssef Boutros Ghali, now minister of foreign trade following the abolition of the economy portfolio. These interpellations contain corruption charges, not only against Ghali, but also against two leading businessmen -- Ahmed Ezz and Naguib Sawiris.
Three interpellations are directed against Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, charging that state- owned banks are rife with corruption and financial irregularities.
Former Economy Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali, now minister of foreign trade during a parliament session
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