Parliament Diaries

Behind-the-scenes and observations from the press balcony and the halls of parliament.

Latest stories

Parliament Diaries| 2025 House elections, reconfiguring power

Politics_

Egypt's 2025 House elections signal a shake-up: veteran MPs sidelined, opposition gains space, and ex-ministers return in a tightly managed political recalibration.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 15-10-2025

Parliament Diaries| 2025 House elections, reconfiguring power

Parliament Diaries| Accountability offline as Ramses blaze paralyzes Egypt

Politics_

A fire torched Egypt’s digital backbone. Ministers blamed pipes. MPs asked questions no one answered. The system failed—again—and no one, as usual, will be held accountable.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 10-7-2025

Parliament Diaries| Accountability offline as Ramses blaze paralyzes Egypt

Parliament Diaries| Old Rent Law: How the No vote turned into a Yes

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Three sessions, one law, and a dramatic arc: Parliament wavers, tenants hope, opposition walks out, and a bill passes, clouded by silence, surrender, and unanswered questions.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 6-7-2025

Parliament Diaries| Old Rent Law: How the No vote turned into a Yes

Parliament Diaries| A nation lost to lack of accountability

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18 girls died on Egypt’s regional highway. Parliament held a moment of silence, then moved on. This is a record of what should not be forgotten.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 2-7-2025

Parliament Diaries| A nation lost to lack of accountability

Parliament Diaries| Everyone loses as rent law passes unchanged

Politics_

Caught between landlords demanding swift contract termination and tenants fearing eviction, Parliament passes a rent law that satisfies neither and deepens the divide.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 19-6-2025

Parliament Diaries| Everyone loses as rent law passes unchanged

Parliament Diaries| A missed storm warning, and a Parliament fast asleep

Politics_

After a violent storm hit Alexandria, Egypt’s Parliament stayed silent while the Senate responded by chance, raising urgent questions about climate readiness and political will.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 4-6-2025

Parliament Diaries| A missed storm warning, and a Parliament fast asleep

Parliament Diaries| In loud times, water reform trickles in silence

Politics_

Parliament passed a pivotal water utility law with minimal debate, as electoral and rent law battles took center stage, exposing deeper crises in political priorities.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 29-5-2025

Parliament Diaries| In loud times, water reform trickles in silence

Parliament Diaries| A quiet showdown over fatwa authority

Politics_

Al-Azhar secured control over fatwas through quiet negotiations while the press lost ground again, fragmented and unsupported as freedoms continue to shrink.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 19-5-2025

Parliament Diaries| A quiet showdown over fatwa authority

Parliament Diaries| In a rare scene, Parliament listens

Politics_

Parliament holds rare public hearings on the old rent law, exposing deep divides between landlords and tenants, and raising urgent questions about justice and reform.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 14-5-2025

Parliament Diaries| In a rare scene, Parliament listens

Parliament Diaries| Rent reform without receipts

Politics_

Egypt’s Parliament debates a sweeping rent law reform without up-to-date data, risking eviction for millions and exposing deep gaps in housing policy and planning.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 8-5-2025

Parliament Diaries| Rent reform without receipts

Parliament Diaries| A ticking bomb in the red hall

Politics_

A proposed overhaul of Egypt’s Rent Control Law sparks rare unity, and deep anxiety, in Parliament, as MPs warn of mass evictions and social fallout.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 6-5-2025

Parliament Diaries| A ticking bomb in the red hall

Parliament Diaries| The dented victory of the medical liability law

Politics_

It’s not ideal. But in the world of policy and politics, especially in a chamber dominated by a pro-government bloc, the ideal is often sacrificed on the altar of the doable.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 22-4-2025

Parliament Diaries| The dented victory of the medical liability law