31 December 2015•Update: 31 December 2015
CAIRO
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday appointed 28 lawmakers to the newly-elected parliament.
Sisi also called on the new assembly to convene on Jan. 10, 2016.
Egypt held a two-phase parliamentary poll in October and November, the first since the 2013 coup against President Mohamed Morsi.
The vote -- the last step in an army-imposed transitional roadmap following Morsi’s ouster -- has seen pro-Sisi MPs dominating most seats in the new assembly.
The 596-seat parliament includes 568 elected members: 448 who were elected on an individual basis and 120 through party lists in addition to 28 MPs appointed by the Egyptian President.
“For the Love of Egypt”, a loyalist electoral alliance led by a former intelligence officer, won all 120 seats allocated to party lists in the two-phase election.
The now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group – of which Morsi had been a leader – had dominated Egypt’s last parliament, which was dissolved in 2012.
Since Morsi’s overthrow, Egyptian authorities have waged a harsh crackdown on the Brotherhood, arresting thousands of the group’s leaders and supporters.