Egypt's parliament approves gov't in confidence vote

Egypt's newly-elected parliament on Wednesday gave a confidence vote to the government of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, approving its program, state media reported.

The government, which has recently undergone a reshuffle that brought 10 new ministers, has been granted confidence by 433 lawmakers of the 596-seat parliament, with 120 members not showing up.

"Yes 433, No 38, Abstained 5, Total 476," read a monitor displayed at the parliament, showing the approval of 90 percent of the participants.

According to many experts, Ismail's cabinet was approved by the pro-president parliament despite its poor performance at security and economic levels.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has recurrently spoken of his confidence in the current government, although it has been sharply criticized by several lawmakers.

The prime minister made a statement at the parliament in late March to provide details of its program that has been under discussion by the parliament's specialized committees before approval.

The Egyptian constitution states that if the parliament votes against the cabinet, a new government is to be formed within 60 days by the dominant bloc in the parliament. If it fails, the parliament is to be dissolved.

Many parliamentarians said the current difficult conditions pushed them to grant confidence to Ismail's government "to maintain the country's stability and avoid constitutional vacancy," stressing that they will keep on strictly monitoring the government's performance. Endit