After drafting a local elections law in May 2018, parliament renewed its commitment to hold the election by the end of that year — before the expiration of the existing local administrations in early 2019, as stipulated by the Constitution.[10][11] But the draft law was tabled in parliament pending further discussions, again postponing plans to organize a vote.[12] That November el-Sisi directed that the elections be held early in 2019,[13] but by the following June the president was openly indicating that the proposed elections laws would have to be redrafted before the process got underway.[14] A new draft was eventually submitted by the government to parliament only in late December 2019.[15] Supporters of the original draft law pointed to the apprehension of the security services, heightened by recent protests, behind the repeated delays and resistance to implementing decentralized responsible government.[16]