Egypt’s parliament on Saturday approved a presidential decree to extend the nationwide state of emergency, in place for two years, for a further three months.

The House of Representatives held an extraordinary session on Saturday to discuss President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's decree (208/2019) last week to extend the state of emergency, beginning on 25 April and concluding on 24 July.

The parliament vote was preceded by an address made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who said that the renewal was part of the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism.

The vote on the decree was passed by a comfortable majority.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

According to the state of emergency, the armed forces and the police shall take the necessary measures to confront terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country and protect public and private properties.