An Egyptian court will later this month hear a petition seeking constitutional changes that would abolish presidential term limits.
The changes would effectively allow President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to seek re-election beyond his second term.
State news agency MENA reports that a Cairo court has set a December 23 date to hear the petition lodged by a number of citizens demanding that the parliament speaker calls a session to “amend the text of article 140 of the constitution”, which sets presidential term limits.
“(The petitioners are demanding) that this article be amended to allow the re-election of the president for similar periods so long that the people approve this through a referendum that all elements of the nation are invited to participate in,” the agency said.
According to Egypt’s constitution, any revision must be approved by a popular referendum.
El-Sisi, a former army chief, ousted Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against the Islamist president’s one year in office.
MENA reports that the petitioners argue that article 140 of the constitution is “unfair to the great Egyptian people” and that eight years gives a president little time to deal with the economic and security challenges facing the country.
