When the Egyptian parliament convened its inaugural session on Jan. 10, 2016, Egyptians had hoped the new legislature would fare better than its predecessor, the Islamist-dominated assembly, which was dissolved by court order in June 2012 after the Supreme Constitutional Court deemed the election process “unconstitutional.” Just weeks before the new parliament’s inauguration, Sameh Seif Al Yazal, a former intelligence officer who is now deceased, announced the formation of the In Support of Egypt Coalition — a parliamentary majority bloc that made no secret of its support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s policies. Skeptics warned that with no real opposition in parliament, it would be no more than a rubber stamp legislature, heavily tilted toward the regime.

Despite the warnings, few Egyptians were prepared for what was to come.

From the onset, disappointment set in when the lawmakers were shown on state TV waving to the cameras and bickering among themselves. Controversial lawmaker Murtada Mansour drew fiery rebukes from fellow parliamentarians when he refused to take the constitutional oath, saying he did not agree with the wording. The session was plunged into chaos minutes after it had started, and the lawmakers voted against live coverage of future proceedings.

In the short span of the last 16 months, at least two lawmakers have been dismissed after their referral to disciplinary committee hearings — a move that critics said was aimed at rooting out any real opposition that may have existed. Member of parliament Mohamed Anwar El Sadat, who had his membership revoked in February for allegedly leaking “classified” information to foreign entities, is a prominent dissenter. Parliamentarian Tawfiq Okasha, who was dismissed a year earlier, had ruffled feathers on several occasions by criticizing state institutions, and in particular security agencies, on his TV talk show on Al-Faraeen channel.