The Egyptian parliament's legislative and constitutional affairs committee concluded on Thursday its national dialogue on proposed amendments to Egypt's 2014 constitution.
The proposed amendments were presented on 3 February by 155 MPs affiliated with the majority Support Egypt parliamentary coalition.
Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, who led the committee's meetings, opened the session by urging those who seek to organise a stand before parliament in protest of the proposed amendments to come and join the dialogue to freely express their views.
On Wednesday, the committee held a five-hour meeting with representatives of political parties.
Most of the participants in the fourth round of dialogue -- 52 political parties -- supported the amendments. Five parties, however, strongly attacked the amendments, insisting that they are "needless and come to serve personal interests."
The list of the opponents includes a mix of liberal and leftist political parties; the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Karama (Dignity) Party, the Conservatives Party, the Tagammu Party, and the Reform and Development Party.
The Islamist Nour Party expressed reservations about some of the amendments.
Egypt's national dialogue on proposed amendments to the constitution began on 20 March.
In early February, the Egyptian parliament’s general committee preliminarily approved a motion signed by more than 120 MPs (one-fifth of the total deputies) on Sunday to amend 15 articles of Egypt’s 2014 constitution.
The proposed amendments aim to increase the length of presidential terms, make representation in parliament more inclusive, and amend regulations governing the judiciary.
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