Opposition parties’ representatives in Egypt's Shura Council (upper house of the parliament) threatened to withdraw from the council's evening session on Tuesday, if parliament members pass a draft bill regulating political rights that allows use of religious slogans in electoral campaigns.

The Council's legislative committee had approved removing a clause that bans the use of religious slogans from the government-drafted bill, limiting the ban to discrimination based on religion, gender, or ethnic origins.

In response, opposition representatives demanded that the article remains in its initial form, prohibiting electoral campaigns from using religious slogans, reported the Middle East News Agency.

Egyptian Current representative, Omar Haridi, warned of the dangers of using religious slogans, saying, “It would lead the country into more sectarianism.”