CAIRO — A new crisis has erupted following a draft law proposed in the parliament this month that would give President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the right to temporarily form a new Supreme Press Council until the issuance of a law regulating the media and press. A draft of the latter was presented by the Supreme Press Council to the Cabinet 10 months ago, but it is still being reviewed by the State Council before being sent to parliament.

The controversial draft law was submitted June 12 by member of parliament Mustafa Bakri, a member of the Committee on Culture and Information and himself a journalist, after collecting the signature of 324 legislators — more than half the 595-member parliament. This proposal would change Article 68 of Law 96 of 1996 on the organization of the press, giving Sisi the authority to form the Supreme Press Council anew and give it full authority for it to be able to make journalistic changes. This comes after the terms of many board chairmen of journalistic institutions ended in January; the terms of the editors of the national newspapers also terminate at the end of this month.

Bakri's proposed draft was approved by the Committee on Culture and Information on June 14.

The authority to appoint the chairmen of boards for journalistic institutions and editors of state-owned newspapers is now held by the Supreme Press Council. This previously had fallen under the jurisdiction of the Shura Council, but it was dissolved after President Mohammed Morsi was dismissed in early July 2013.