The Egyptian parliament approved on Sunday a limited ministerial reshuffle that included the appointment of four new ministers and two new ministry deputies, as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi prepares to submit a "statement of account" of his first term at a conference next Wednesday.
Egyptian presidential spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radhi said that the president's participation in the conference held under his auspices between January 17-19 in Cairo comes within the framework of his keenness to activate community participation and promote dialogue among citizens, especially young people.
Radhi added that the conference will be attended by a large number of representatives of different communities, experts and specialists in various fields, and will provide a comprehensive presentation on the achievements and projects that have been implemented over the past four years.
During the conference, the president will respond "to the citizens' questions, that were posed within the framework of "Ask the President" initiative, launched on January 10 and continues until today," according to the spokesperson.
On January 20, the Electoral Commission will begin to accept the presidential candidates for a period of 10 days.
Elections outside the country will begin on March 16 for three days, while voting inside the country will be held on the 26th of the same month for three days too.
On the other hand, the spokesman of the National Electoral Commission, adviser Mahmoud al-Sharif, pointed out that the Commission "received 15 requests from organizations wishing to monitor the electoral process, and that the Commission is working on examining these requests."
Meanwhile, the cabinet reshuffle included the appointment of Abu Bakr al-Gendi as minister for local development, Rania al-Mashat as tourism minister, Enas Abdeldayem as culture minister and Khaled Badawy as public enterprise minister.
The parliament also approved the appointment of Asim al-Gazzar as Deputy Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, and Tarek Mohammed Tawfiq Amin as Deputy Minister of Health and Population.
