Members of the Egyptian parliament in Cairo have recently approved new amendments to the constitution passed in 2014. This shift aimed at strengthening the executive apparatus at the expense of the legislature and judiciary, and enabling President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to remain in power 2034. It has also raised new questions about the dilemma of the military ruling of the country eight years after the open-ended protests for democratization in Tahrir Square. The emerging debate pivots around the trajectory of such constitutional amendments and their impact on Egyptian politics in domestic and international contexts.
Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (ACJS) and the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University are gathering a host of Egyptian and Turkish scholars and researchers to discuss the theme “Constitutional Amendments in Egypt: Circumstances and Implications,” on Tuesday, the 19th of March 2019 in Istanbul in collaboration with Al Jazeera Mubasher.
The first session of the seminar will address “New Constitutional Amendments in Egypt: Reasons and Results” and will include four panelists:
• Ayman Nour, chairman of El Ghad Party;
• Tarek Al Zomor, former chairman of the Building and Development Party;
• Gamal Nassar, professor of Islamic philosophy at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University;
• Yasin Aktay, academic and member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The second session will focus on the constitutional amendments and their domestic and regional implivcations of Egypt with several panelists:
• Saif Eddin Abdel Fattah, former professor of political science at Cairo University ;
• Essam Abdelshafy, Charmain of the International Relations Academy (Turkey);
• Burhan Köro?lu, professor of political science at Ibn Haldun University;
• Sami Al-Arian, Director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University
The session will be moderated by Al Jazeera Mubasher presenter Salem Almahroukey.