Kamal Ahmed (Photo: Ahram)
Veteran parliamentarian Kamal Ahmed announced his resignation from Egypt's new parliament only two days after its inaugural session, MENA reported on Tuesday.
Prior to the 25 January revolution, the Alexandria parliamentarian was known as a harsh critic of Mubarak-era ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
He ran in the 2015 elections as an independent.
Ahmed ran for speaker of the new parliament garnering 36 votes, losing to now-speaker Ali Abdel-Al who swept into the position with 401 supporters.
Ahmed, who is in his seventies, said he is leaving parliament for health reasons. However, sources close to him say Ahmed resigned because he disagreed with the way the new parliament is operating.
The new parliament witnessed controversial and confusing moments in its first two days.
On Monday, the majority of MPs agreed to temporarily ban the live airing of its sessions until it finishes discussing the laws issued since July 2013 by the executive power as mandated by the 2014 constitution.
The ban triggered disagreements from a number of representatives and other public figures.
Many MPs had objected to an initial unilateral decision by the speaker who appointed certain members to five committees to review general laws and one to revise parliament bylaws.
MP Seri Siam charged that the speaker of the house was committing violations through his decisions.
On Sunday, the opening day, MP Mortada Mansour caused a raucous on the floor by refusing to recite the parliamentary oath properly, causing delays in the swearing-in process.
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