CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday asked Oil Minister Sherif Ismail to form a new Cabinet within one week after the government submitted its resignation, a statement from the presidency said. Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and his Cabinet resigned Saturday amid a corruption investigation that led to the arrest of the agriculture minister last week. The office of Sissi said that he had accepted the resignation but that the ministers would continue to serve until a new body is appointed. Prior to handing in his resignation, Mehleb gave a report detailing the performance of the government, which both officials said Sissi found "unsatisfying." Agriculture Minister Salah El-Din Helal was detained Monday after tendering his resignation amid an investigation into allegations that he and others received over $1 million in bribes. The Egyptian government has long been plagued by corruption allegations. El-Sissi routinely emphasizes that he is fighting corruption. Mehleb walked out of a press conference in Tunisia earlier this week after being asked about the corruption allegations. Mahleb's 31-member government was sworn in March 2014 and tasked with organizing a presidential election which Sisi, the previous army chief, won in May of that year. Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, is due to hold long-delayed parliamentary elections next month, the final step in a process the government has said would deliver democracy. The elections had initially been scheduled for early 2014 but were delayed on legal grounds. — Agencies
