World

Egypt constitutional changes could mean Sisi rule until 2030

April 17, 2019 5:09 am

Egypt’s parliament has approved constitutional amendments that would allow President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to stay in power until 2030.

Mr Sisi is due to stand down in 2022, when his second four-year term ends.

But the amendments, which must be put to a referendum within 30 days, would lengthen his current term to six years and allow him to stand for one more.

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They would also give Mr Sisi more power over the judiciary and further enshrine the military’s role in politics.

In 2013, Mr Sisi led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, following protests against his rule.

Since then, he has overseen what human rights groups say is an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that has led to the detention of tens of thousands of people.