A new draft law aimed at regulating local administration in Egypt has sparked a debate about the nature of the country’s New Capital, previously known as the New Administrative Capital, and whether it is a future alternative to Egypt’s traditional capital of Cairo.
The proposed law grants special status to the New Capital, which has become the de facto centre of government following the relocation of the cabinet office, the House of Representatives, and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to it.
The idea of making the then New Administrative Capital Egypt’s political and administrative headquarters dates back to 2015. All government ministries, and many judicial, administrative, and investment bodies, have moved to the New Capital since January 2024 within what is called “the government district”.
Last week, Hisham Badawi, speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Egypt’s parliament, approved the referral of a new draft local administration law to relevant committees for discussion, prior to its presentation to the full House in a plenary session.
The draft law, submitted by Mohamed Attia Al-Fayoumi, deputy chair of the House’s Local Administration Committee, includes a proposal to designate the New Capital as a “province with a special status”.
It also proposes changing the name of the New Capital to Memphis. Article 119 of the draft law states that Memphis shall be a province with a special status within the city of Cairo, and that the president shall issue a decision to determine its borders and regulate its administration.
The province shall include the headquarters of the Presidency, as well as government ministries and foreign embassies, in addition to the House of Representatives, the Senate, and other public and constitutional institutions and authorities, the draft law says.
It grants the president the power to appoint a head of the province of Memphis, according to Article 120, giving him the powers of a provincial governor.
Al-Fayoumi’s proposal has sparked controversy on social media, both regarding the idea itself and the proposed name. Some have rejected granting the New Capital a special status, arguing that this threatens national unity and opens the door to divisions.
Others have welcomed the idea, believing that the New Capital needs special legislative provision that aligns with its role.
Some have suggested other names such as Menf as an abbreviation of Memphis. Both Menf and Memphis were the names of capitals in Pharaonic Egypt.
Others prefer to use Arabic names with a direct reference to Egypt such as Al-Mahroussa, a suggestion made by journalist and former MP Farida Al-Shobashi.
“Why don’t we call it Al-Mahroussa or Baha,” she asked.
Al-Shobashi told the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that she is hesitant about any future change to Egypt’s capital, but that she welcomes distinction being given to the New Capital.
President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi previously described the New Administrative Capital as “the birth of a new state and a new republic”.
Mustafa Kamel Al-Sayed, a professor of political science at Cairo University, said that under the 2014 constitution Cairo is the capital of Egypt.
“As far as I understand it, Al-Fayoumi’s draft law wants to make the New Capital a ‘province’ with special status, but not the capital of Egypt,” he said.
The Administrative Capital Company, which is responsible for operating the city, decided last November to change its name to the New Capital instead of the New Administrative Capital in all official statements.
Al-Fayoumi attributed his suggestion to change the name of the city to Memphis to the fact that this was the name of the capital when Egypt was a united state in antiquity.
He said that the draft law stipulates that the New Capital be considered a province of a special nature with a special legal status and financial and administrative independence. It states that it will remain part of Cairo, he said.
“The constitution stipulates that the headquarters of the House of Representatives should be in Cairo, but when the headquarters were moved to the New Administrative Capital this year no one said that this goes against the constitution because the Administrative Capital is part of Cairo,” Al-Fayoumi said.
He said that the special status of the New Capital does not conflict with constitutional texts regulating local administration, adding that the constitution refers the issue of drawing administrative boundaries and provinces to the law, so there is no constitutional problem as such.
He added that the American capital, Washington, DC, is neither an independent state nor part of any state but instead is simply a city with a special status accommodating the US government.
According to the draft law, the New Capital would have a board of directors the formation of which would be determined by a presidential decision and would include representatives from all the authorities concerned in addition to experts in planning, urban development, and management.
The board would be responsible for drawing up policies for its development and administration, supervising the implementation of national projects and infrastructure within its scope, setting up systems for providing smart and advanced services to citizens and institutions, and managing the financial resources and appropriations allocated to the New Capital and its development.
The draft says that the New Capital will have an independent budget as part of the annual state budget.
Al-Fayoumi explained that the draft local administration law that he has submitted to the House, and which Speaker Badawi has referred to the relevant parliamentary committees, also tackles local council elections, not held since 2012.
“Holding the municipal elections is an important democratic step towards supporting decentralisation and enhancing the role of local councils in improving the quality of services provided to citizens,” Al-Fayoumi said.
He added that both President Al-Sisi and Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli have emphasised that they want to see a new local administration law and local council elections as soon as possible.
The draft law specifies the conditions for candidates in the elections to local councils, which include an age of at least 21 years, at least a basic education certificate, having performed military service or being legally exempt from it, and having civil and political rights, as well as being registered on the electoral registers for the relevant local council.
It also stipulates the need for certain categories of people to resign from their current jobs before running in local council elections, including members of the Armed Forces and police, members of the judiciary, ministers and their deputies, governors and their deputies, heads of independent bodies and regulatory agencies, and village mayors and sheikhs.
Al-Fayoumi’s draft law states that a mixture of a list system and an individual candidacy system should be used for local elections.
“As many as 75 per cent of the seats will be filled through the list system to ensure the representation of categories stipulated by the constitution, and 25 per cent will be elected through the individual system to give an opportunity to independent candidates to run and win seats, with a separate ballot paper allocated to each system,” he said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 26 February, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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