As Egypt's new constitution is being drafted, the future of the Shura Council came under the spotlight. Analysts predict the upper house is likely to stay, while arguing that its retention is only wise if the largely " symbolic" chamber is granted with more power.

Traditionally, the Shura Council plays a limited role in Egypt' s legislation. While the People's Assembly (lower house) is assigned to make laws and supervise executive authorities, the Shura Council (upper house) mainly gives consultations on issuing laws.

According to the 1971 constitution, the Shura Council is assigned to review clauses and bills issued by the People's Assembly and to oversee the media.

Currently, Egypt's Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a new constitution, is going through a heated debate over the destiny of the Shura Council.

The assembly's members are due to decide in a vote on Tuesday whether to retain the upper house in the parliament or not.

Overall, the members are divided into three groups. One supports the retention of the council and a boost of its role, the second urges to further limit its powers, and the third calls for its abolishment.

Mahmoud Ghazlan, the assembly's chief and the spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood, has expressed his hope that the Shura Council will be retained and expects it to help "strengthen the country's legislative work."

Dr. Salah Salem, a professor of political science at Cairo University, told Xinhua that the Shura Council with its present powers is only a "symbol" and "does not have any value in Egypt's politics."

He also said the rules by which the council was formed were flawed because the president was entitled to appoint up to one- third of its members, adding that such appointments were often made to please certain political groups.

Nevertheless, the professor expects the Constituent Assembly to retain the council through their draft constitution, and in the meantime urges them to give the council more powers, at least no fewer than those granted to the lower house.

He reiterated that "the upper house should take part in making Egypt's laws in a more supervisory role" and "its members should be chosen according to a set of criteria made by independent authorities and based on experience and competence."

Meanwhile, the professor predicts that the Constituent Assembly would keep the Shura Council as long as the Islamists support its retention.

Youssri el-Azabawy, a political expert with Ahram Center for Strategic and Political Studies, echoed Salem's prediction that the council would stay in the legislature in the new constitution.

Despite his forecast, Azabawy supports the abolishment of the council unless its legislative and supervisory role is elevated to a degree that it could actually help the country's legislation.

"If the Shura Council carries on with its existing powers, then we'd better let it go, especially after the president formed his own group of advisors, who are likely to displace the role of the council," he added.

According to the expert, the upper house is only "a consultative body" whose advice "is not binding either to the People's Assembly or the president." He described the council as " a carrot of the old regime to its supporters, especially the journalists and the academics."

"If keeping the council is only a waste of money, time and efforts, we would be better off without it in the sense that we could reduce the burden on our public budget, particularly in light of our flabby economy," he said.

Moreover, Azabawy noted that the Islamic parties will dominate both houses of the parliament anyway, and as a result, their legislative orientation will be more or less the same.

Therefore, he argued, abolishing the Shura Council would help reduce the money spent on election campaigns, which could be better used in other areas such as reviving the economy.

Azabawy pointed out that if the council is to stay, "its powers should be revised" because the present council is a historic legacy dating as far back as to 1866, when the country's first parliament was initiated by Khedive Ismail, the ruler of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire.

Meanwhile, Azabawy said he does not think "a more empowered Shura Council will affect the work of the lower house negatively."

He noted that most democratic countries have two legislative chambers that are entrusted with different powers to complement each other and thus form an integral institution.

However, Azabawy said that "if we want this council to carry on, the number of members appointed by the president should be reduced, " describing the current way of choosing the members as "messy" and "presidency dictatorship."

Egypt was expected to finish drafting its new constitution by the end of September, namely three months after the establishment of its Constituent Assembly. However, the completion of the work seems to have lagged behind its schedule. Once completed, the draft constitution is set to be put to a referendum in 30 days.