In a statement released on Monday, Ahmed Saadeddin, the secretary-general of Egypt's parliament – the House of Representatives – said he has decided to resign from office due to "very private reasons" and that he prefers to return to his earlier job as a judge with the state council.

"It is so sad for me to announce today that I have decided to resign from the post of secretary-general of parliament due to very private reasons which make it difficult for me to continue in this job, and now I prefer to return to my job in the State Council," said Saadeddin.

"I submitted my resignation to parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal on Sunday, expressing my thanks for him, for the two deputy speakers, and for all the staff serving the House."

Saadeddin's resignation comes one month ahead of parliament reconvening.

Parliament's next legislative season (2019/20), which is due to begin before the first Thursday of October, will be the last one, after which new parliamentary elections will be held at the end of 2020.

Saadeddin said he spent four years (2015-2019) serving parliament as secretary-general.

"These were some of the happiest years in my life, but they came at the expense of my original job as a judge with the State Council," said Saadeddin.

However, rumours are rife that Saadeddin has received a job offer from the parliament of the United Arab Emirates – the Federal National Council.

Abdel-Hadi El-Qasabi, the leader of the parliamentary majority Support Egypt coalition, said in a TV interview on Sunday that "Ahmed El-Mahdi, a leading judicial expert, is expected to be named as parliament's new secretary-general.

"El-Mahdi has good experience in judicial and parliamentary circles, and his appointment will make sure that business goes smoothly in parliament in its final season," said El-Qasabi.

According to parliament's internal bylaws, the secretary-general is responsible for running the daily business of parliament, preparing the agenda for parliamentary debates, and supervising the performance of staff.