Cairo, Dec 31 (Aswat Masriya) – Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued two presidential decrees to appoint 28 parliamentarians and to convene the first parliamentary session on Jan 10, the state-owned Nile TV announced on Thursday.

The decrees are No. 560 and No. 561 for appointing the parliamentarians and setting the date of the first session of the house of representatives, consecutively.

Fourteen of the appointed figures are women. The list of appointees includes professors, lawyers, party leaders, and other public figures.

The House is comprised of 596 members, 448 are individual candidates, 120 elected through lists and 28 appointed by the president.

The House is the first legislature elected since 2012, when a top Egypt court dissolved the People's Assembly, the lower house of parliament. At the time, Egypt had a bicameral legislature but even the upper house, the Shura Council was dissolved in 2013.

During the absence of a parliament, the president held legislative powers, on condition that upon the election of a new parliament all the legislations passed by the president should be discussed and approved by the House within 15 days of its commencement, according to article 156 of the Egyptian constitution.