ABSTRACT
For almost half a century, emergency regulations have been used in Egypt for the purpose of allowing the executive authorities to repress any form of opposition. Therefore, when a ‘real’ emergency took place in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt was unable to develop alternative tools to deal with it. The historic reliance on emergency powers as the default way of governing for decades has affected the whole legal culture of Egypt. The only kind of emergencies that informed Egyptian practice in the use of emergency powers were related to security concerns. Nevertheless, legislative amendments to existing emergency law and other procedures were introduced to respond to the economic damage and public health concerns arising from COVID-19. Legal interventions by civil society organisations played an essential role in enhancing the right to health during the pandemic. Further, Egypt conducted the Senate and House elections during the time of the COVID-19 crisis. While the House elections were not possible to be delayed because of the tight constitutional deadline, the Senate elections could have been postponed to minimise health risks. In summary, Egypt’s approach to the COVID-19 crisis was the adoption of the minimum possible actions, while not changing the way the system functions and aiming to quickly return to the ‘normal’ mode of governing.
