The House of Representatives on Monday, 19 October 2026, postponed the vote on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s request for authorization to send military forces abroad to support and defend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and decided to continue the secret session dedicated to the request until next Monday, 26 October, after two consecutive emergency sessions on Sunday and Monday chaired by Counselor Hisham Badawi, the Speaker of the House.
Parliamentary sources reported that the vote will be held by roll call, and that approval requires a two-thirds majority of the House’s members. Article 130 of the House’s internal rules requires this majority to approve sending the armed forces on a combat mission outside the state’s borders, in an urgent secret session held by the House at the request of the President of the Republic, after taking the opinion of the National Defense Council, in accordance with Article 152 of the Constitution. The session saw a number of members object to and abstain from the authorization.
The Egyptian Social Democratic Party had announced in advance its reservation about granting the authorization. Al Jazeera Net quoted Mahmoud Sami El-Imam, head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, as saying that postponing the vote for a week can only be read as making room for an opportunity or some goal to be achieved, which may be making room for diplomatic efforts.
The sessions came after a meeting of the National Defense Council chaired by Sisi at Al-Ittihadiya Palace on Sunday, 18 October, in which it decided to provide all necessary and possible forms of support to Saudi Arabia to defend its security and stability, and to continue and intensify political and diplomatic efforts to reduce escalation in the region.
Photo: Abdelrhman 1990 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
