Parliament sessions to resume live broadcasting

Parliamentary sessions will soon be back on the airwaves, Alaa Abed, head of the Free Egyptians bloc, told Mada Masr on Thursday after a meeting with the speaker and the heads of the parliamentary blocs.

On Monday, members of Parliament (MPs) had decided to temporarily ban live broadcasts until they finished discussing the laws issued by presidential decree since July 2013 in the absence of an elected legislative body. They made the decision after 40 MPs submitted a proposal to stop the live broadcasts.

While some local media outlets reported the televised sessions would resume after the 15-day period stipulated for discussing the laws, Abed said they might start up again even sooner.

Live broadcasting has been the topic of much debate. Safaa Hegazy, head of the state-run Maspero news sector, had announced the first parliamentary meeting would be aired live, but that a decision hadn’t been made on whether or not to air subsequent sessions. However, Egyptian television channels were prepared to broadcast at any time, she noted.

Parliament Secretary General Ahmed Saad Eddin maintained that the broadcasting rights should be the concern of the Parliament and the speaker alone, and that only the opening session should be aired.

According to Abed, other topics discussed during Thursday’s session with the bloc leaders included scheduling a meeting with independent MPs within the coming two days.