www.tjprc.org editor@tjprc.org ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF EGYPT’S 2015 PARLIAMENT IN PROMOTING DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE TAHA KASSEM Associate Professor of Political Science and Political Economy, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), College of Management and Technology (CMT), Egypt ABSTRACT Democracy and good governance are no longer a luxury; however, they are essential for sustainable development. Parliaments are the imperative foundations of democracy and good governance. Authorities and functions of parliament are ordinarily laid down in the constitution or in parliamentary by-laws of every state. For establishing and consolidating democracy and good governance, parliament is supposed to perform three major functions,sufficient representation,legislation, and oversight in a transparent and responsible manner.This research argues that, although Egypt‘s 2014 constitution laid down the roles and authorities of House of Representatives, after the first legislative session 2015/2016, Egyptians feel that it wasn’t able to assume the laid down roles and hence appeared to be no more than a completion of the democratic form without realistically promoting democracy and good governance. The researcher uses a quantitative research method to clarify the argument. KEYWORDS: Democracy – Good Governance – Constitution - Parliament Authorities- Representativeness- Legislation- Oversight- Parliament Transparency- Parliament Accountability Received: May 30, 2017; Accepted: Jun 20, 2017; Published: Jul 18, 2017; Paper Id.: IJPSLIRAUG20172 INTRODUCTION In the execution of their key roles of legislation, Representation and oversight parliaments can effectively take part in the enactment, development and implementation of laws, arrangements and practices that endorse and consolidate democracy and good governance. Nowadays, pursuance of good governance in developing countries doesn’t only depend on the executive authorities and civil society organizations; but also extends to include parliaments as well.Empowering parliaments to perform all their due functions adequately and efficiently is a challenge, yet it is a challenge which merits taking. The Democratization process, well established and consolidated in the developed countries, requires a lot of efforts to start in the developing countries. Good governance needs to be established and consolidated for the democratization process to take place. The components of good governance could be identified as follows, well established and democratic institutions, effective and transparent laws and regulations, clear and democratization and development oriented policies andefficient decision making and implementation processes. The parliament or legislature assumes an essential role in building and consolidating good governance. It in this way, it performs three principle duties: a) speak to and express the perspectives and wishes of the subjects in basic leadership procedures b) make new laws, change existing laws and cancel laws which are not require anymore; and c) regulate the exercises of the official so that the administration is responsible to the general population. Accomplishing good governance requires the presence of a solid, successful and proficient parliament. Original Article International Journal of Political Science, Law and International Relations (IJPSLIR) ISSN(P): 2278-8832; ISSN(E): 2278-8840 Vol. 7, Issue 4, Aug 2017, 19-36 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.