Egypt’s parliamentary 'circus' will not be going live
The Egyptian parliament apparently is so embarrassed by some members’ behavior that it has temporarily banned live media broadcasts of its sessions.
CAIRO — Egypt’s newly elected parliament kicked off the year by banning live news broadcasts of its sessions. Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Al said the temporary decision came following “specific circumstances.”
During the first parliament session Jan. 10, some members of parliament exhibited inappropriate behaviors that were aired live on TV. One member was heard insulting parliamentary regulations, while member of parliament Murtada Mansour went off-script while reciting the constitutional oath. Mansour refused to acknowledge the 2011 revolution, which resulted in the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, and accused his fellow MPs of being informers for Egyptian intelligence agencies.
MP Kamal Ahmed, expressing his objection to the way parliamentary sessions are conducted, abruptly resigned. Kamal was quoted in Shorouk newspaper as saying that the actions of some MPs had turned the parliament into a circus.
In a Jan. 12 news conference, Abdel-Al said, “We are not contesting the role of the media, and reporters will continue to cover the sessions.” He denounced the performance of some journalists and cameramen who took offensive shots of some MPs.
