The first parliament elected since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak is slated to hold its opening session on Monday, amid uncertainty over whether Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s de-facto ruler, will attend the session.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Mohamed Ahmed Attiya was quoted by the state TV as saying that he does not know if Tantawi will attend the session.
Attiya said that the speaker of parliament and his two deputies must be elected during the opening session. The new MPs will have to elect heads of parliamentary committees as well.
Last week, leading political parties said that they would back Saad al-Katatny, secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, for the position of assembly speaker, with the Salafi Nour Party and the Wafd Party taking the deputy posts.
On Saturday, Sami Mahran, the assembly's secretary, said that Tantawi would not be present at the opening session.
