• INTRODUCTION
• POLITICAL SITUATION
• ELECTIONS
• POLITICAL PARTIES
• BIOGRAPHIES

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INTRODUCTION

The Arab Republic of Egypt is a country in the North-Eastern corner of the African continent bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west. Its geographical position, size and population, its intellectual achievements, its control of the Suez Canal and its position towards Israel have made Egypt a strategically important country. Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and has often taken or attempted to take the lead among Arab nations. Regarding the political system, not much is clear so far as a new constitution has not been completed yet. Until the uprising in January 2011, Egypt was considered a presidential republic where executive power was vested in the president, who was also Head of State.

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POLITICAL SITUATION

The legislative branch in Egypt consists of a bicameral system which is composed of the People’s Assembly (PA) (or Majlis al-Sha’b), and the advisory Shura Council. The number of seats in the PA is 508. 498 of those are elected by popular vote and 10 will be appointed by the president. The members serve a five-year term. The Shura Council, which functions mostly in a consultative role, is made up of 264 seats; 176 of which are elected by popular vote for a six-year term, and 88 who are appointed by the president. Ultimate judicial power lies within the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Pre-revolution era
While Egypt has long been a presidential republic, with presidential elections every six years, the pre-uprising political situation can best be described as a dictatorship. Hosni Mubarak, who took over from the assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981, was serving his fifth term as president when he was ousted in 2011. Mubarak derived much of his ‘legitimacy’ by keeping the Islamist forces away from power, he also had close ties with the military which has a strong position in Egypt, until the military leaders turned against him during the 2011 revolution. In the 2005 presidential elections Mubarak was re-elected with 88.6%. The lack of fair elections and lack of change had turned many Egyptians away from politics in this period, turnouts rarely exceeded 15%, even though official figures were reported as much higher. Mubarak was also the leader of the National Democratic Party which dominated the parliament, with 420 out of 518 seats since the 2010 parliamentary elections, while the popular Muslim Brotherhood gained only 1 out of 88 seats reserved for independent candidates. The lack of real influence on political life, by fair and free elections, was one of the major motives for the protests in early 2011.

Egyptian revolution, 2011
The Tunisian revolution that broke out in December 2010 sparked the Egyptian people to take to the streets as well. Starting from the 25th of January large scale demonstrations were organised in different cities in Egypt calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule. Dissatisfactions over corruption, lack of freedom of speech, economic issues as food price inflation, high unemployment, low wages and the enrichment of the ruling elite were the reasons for the protests.

Rumours were spread on the 10th of February that Mubarak would announce his resignation that evening. Instead, he repeated he would remain in power until September. Angry that Mubarak did not step down, protests resulted in a nationwide escalation dubbed ‘Farewell Friday’ on the 11th of February. At 16.00 hour the same day the Egyptian Vice-president Omar Suleiman announced in a televised address that President Hosni Mubarak had stepped down and had handed over authority to the SCAF.

Interim government
The SCAF announced that it will remain in charge of the country until a president has been elected. The military, headed by de facto Head of State Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, suspended the Constitution, dissolved the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council. On 30 March 2011 the SCAF issued a Constitutional Declaration setting out the constitutional provisions that will be in effect until a new constitution comes into force. The Constitutional Declaration was approved by referendum and contains 63 articles, compared to 211 articles in the suspended Constitution. 

Emergency Law
After the revolution in 2011, the Emergency Law that had been in force since 1981 was not lifted. In fact, it was renewed by the government for two years in May 2011, as the authorities explained the necessities of the Law to fight terrorism. However, it was mostly used to detain people without trial and to circumvent the civilian justice system. In the recent past the law was used to arrest members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was considered by the government as a political threat.
Surprisingly, albeit the extension of the Law in May, the military chief Tantawi announced its abolishment on the eve of the revolution anniversary on 25 January 2012. Although the international community praised the lift of the decades-old Law, it still applies in many cases such as terrorism and drug trafficking. In addition, the police remains to have wide powers to detain people without trial or indictments.

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ELECTIONS

Constitutional referendum 2011
Around one month after the revolution in February, on 19 March 2011, Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum on constitutional changes that will usher in elections. In total, the Egyptians voted in favour of a package of nine amendments to the constitution.

The changes included a restriction of the presidential terms from six years to four years and a limitation of two terms for the president. There will also be less restrictions for the nomination of a presidential candidate, and judicial supervision of the entire election process. The highest court will get the authority to arbitrate disputed election results and there will be restrictions on when the President can declare a state of emergency.

Under former President Hosni Mubarak, elections were state-managed affairs with pre-determined results and low turnouts. However, on the day of the referendum, more than 14 million voters, or around 77%, approved the constitutional amendments. 4 million, or around 23%, voted against them. According to the Egyptian government, the turnout of 41% among the 45 million eligible voters broke all records for recent elections.

People’s Assembly elections 2011
The elections for the new PA took place in multiple stages. On 28 November, 14 December 2011 and 3 January 2012 the Egyptians cast their ballot for the lower house elections. On each ballot, voters had to vote for a national party list and a local candidate in a first-past-the-post-system. Two-thirds of the 498 elected seats were filled based on the party lists and a proportional system, and the last one-third through the local candidates. An additional 10 politicians were chosen by the military chief.

On 29 and 30 January, Egyptians held the first round for the Shura Council, the upper house, in elections that will be staggered in two stages. The second round took place on 14 and 15 February, with run-offs on 22 February. The PA and the Shura will then appoint a 100-member council that will draft a constitution; a constitutional referendum will be held and eventually elections for a new president will take place. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) planned presidential elections for June 2012.

First round
Turnout for the elections on 28 November was 59,1%, until then the highest ever in Egypt. The left-wing Egyptian Bloc Alliance, which has campaigned as the secular - or as it states in its official propaganda “civic” - alternative to the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, has secured 13.4% of the votes for the party lists.

The Freedom and Justice Party was the big winner of this round, securing almost 37% of the votes. In addition, the party did well in the run-offs, winning 31 of the 44 seats that were available. Second came the Salafist Nour Party. It managed to secure one fourth of the votes in the first round. The party strives for the installation of a stringent version of the Sharia law, and has announced that most of its more radical positions (such as a ban on alcohol and the position of females) are not up for negotiations. This line might put the party in an isolated position.

Party	Votes for the party list	%	Candidates that won a seat through the first-past-the-post-system
Freedom and Justice Party	3,565,092	36.3%	33
Nour Party	2,371,713	24.4%	4
Egyptian Bloc Alliance*	1,299,819	13.4%	2
Wafd Party	690,077	7.1%	1
Minor left-wing parties
Revolution Continues Alliance**	335,947	3.5%	2
Freedom Party	136,784	1.4%	0
Other parties/candidates	1,335,081	13.9%	6
Total valid votes	9,734,513	100%

* The Egyptian Social Democratic Party is a leading member of the Egyptian bloc Alliance. The Nationalist Progressive Unionist Party (commonly referred to as “Al-Tagmmu”) is a minor partner in the alliance.
** The Revolution Continues Alliance is a splinter from the Egyptian Bloc Alliance that includes the Socialist Popular Alliance Party and the Egyptian Socialist Party.

Second round
On 14 and 15 December 2011 the second round of the elections for the People Assembly took place, with run-offs on 21 and 22 December In this round, voting took place in districts around the Nile Delta, traditionally a stronghold of political Islam. Observers noted many breaches of the election law, which stipulates that campaigning is prohibited in- and directly outside of polling stations. The Freedom and Justice Party handed out leaflets explaining how to vote for them to voters entering polling stations. In two voting districts, re-runs were held as a result of violations of the election law. However, the minor manipulations did not effect the final outcome of the polls after three stages.

The voter turnout was 64%, exceeding that of the first stage. The results were similar. The FJP won 49% of the votes, the Al Nour Party 28%. The Egyptian Bloc obtained only 5% of the votes, the Revolution Continues just 1%.

Third round
On 3 and 4 January 2012 the remaining voters cast their ballots in the final stage of the parliamentary polls, with run-offs on 10 and 11 January. Over 35% of the votes were won by the FJP, again winning the election round. The conservative Salafist Nour Party won 27,5%. The liberal Egyptian Bloc Alliance obtained 5.2 percent of the votes. The Revolution Continues Alliance won only 2 percent of the votes.

Final results
The final results of the election for the People’s Assembly (PA) were revealed on 22 January 2012. The Islamists performed extremely well in the lower house polls, obtaining over two-third of the votes. The social democratic parties, like other non-religious parties, won only a few seats. The Egyptian Bloc Alliance received 6,7 % of the votes, of which the Egyptian Social Democratic Party is part of. The Revolution Continues Bloc garnered only 7 seats, an alliance comprising among others the Socialist Popular Alliance Party and the Egyptian Socialist Party. The head of the military council chose 10 politicians directly. Among these were 5 Coptic Christians and 3 women, who are the only women in the parliament. In total, over 27,000,000 people voted.

Party	Percentage	Seats in PA
Democratic Alliance (incl. Freedom and Justice Party)	46,3%	235 (213)
Islamist Alliance (incl. Al-Nour Party)	24,4%	124 (107)
Al-Wafd	7,5%	38
Egyptian Bloc (incl. ESDP*)	6,7%	34 (16)
Independents	5,1%	26
Felool parties	3,1%	16
Al-Wasat	2%	10
Reform and Development Bloc	1,6%	8
The Revolution Continues (incl. SPAP and ESP*)	1,4%	7
Total of elections	98%	498
Appointed by SCAF	2%	10
Total in Peoples Assembly	100%	508

* ESDP = Egyptian Social Democratic Party
SPAP = Socialist Popular Alliance Party
ESP = Egyptian Socialist Party

The final voter turnout was 54%.
For a clear overview of all parties and where they stand in the political landscape, click here

Presidential Elections 2012
The 23rd of May marked what is commonly seen as a historic moment in Egypt, with the first free and democratic presidential elections. The first round in which 12 candidates competed against each other was held on the 23rd and 24th of May and took place in an orderly fashion, except for the assault on candidate Ahmed Shafiq after he casted his vote. Moreover, the process of the elections has been well received by both Egyptians as the international community. The voter turnout was 46.42%. For many it was their first time to vote in an election. While former President Mubarak used to get over 80% of votes, in this election the polls were unable to predict a winner.

On 28 May it was announced that Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq won most votes, although not enough to determine a definite winner. The following three best candidates were Nasserist and left-wing candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, who by the revolutionaries was viewed as ‘one of us’ and has long been a strong opposition figure against Mubarak, also participated in founding the anti-Mubarak Kifaya (Enough) movement. Former Brotherhood candidate Abdel Fotouh came in fourth as the moderate Islamist candidate who was seen as able to bridge the gap between supporters of secularism and the Islamists, but was therefore also criticized of having too many different faces. Amr Moussa, who served as Foreign Affairs Minister under Mubarak and was the former President of the Arab League was the last candidate to receive more than 10% of the vote. He was seen as a liberal and as less affiliated with the Mubarak regime than Shafiq. The results of the first round are presented in the table below.

Candidate	Number of votes	Percentage
Mohamed Morsi	5,764,952	24.7%
Ahmed Shafiq	5,505,327	23.6%
Hamdeen Sabahi	4,820,273	20.7%
Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh	4,065,239	17.4%
Amr Moussa	2,588,850	11.1%
Mohamed Selim al-Awa	235,374	1.0%
Khalid Ali	134,056	0.5%
Abu al-Ezz al-Hariri	40,090	0.01%
Hesham al-Bastawisi	29,189	0.01%
Mahmoud Hossam	23,992	0.01%
Mohamed Fawzi Eissa	23,889	0.01%
Hossam al-Din Kemal Kheirallah	22,036	0.01%
Abdullah al-Ashal	12,249	0.005%

Run-off
Because no candidate received a majority of the votes cast, a runoff between Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq took place on 16 and 17 June. The latter encountered a lot of opposition, being criticized as a remnant of the Mubarak regime - having been Prime Minister between 29 January and 3 March 2011, while others see him as the person who was most likely to bring stability. Consequently, the period between the two election rounds was marked by polarisation, tumult and repeated protests, not in the least because of decisions of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). One of the decisions comprised the dissolution of the newly elected parliament, since elections were found invalid. Shafiq was allowed to partake in the run-off because SCAF found a parliamentary law which would bar affiliates of the old regime invalid. Furthermore, the SCAF has demonstrated that it will seek to control the process on writing a new constitution by giving itself and the courts veto power over any article that they disapprove of.

The second election round proceeded less organised than the first round, as the two presidential campaigns exchanging accusations of electoral fraud. Furthermore, illegal campaigning in front of polling stations, vote-buying, influencing voters to choose certain candidates and arranging votes for military and police personnel were reported. Meanwhile, a handful of activists from the April 6 Youth Movement was arrested while campaigning against Shafiq. However, large proportions of the electorate felt reluctant to vote for either one of the candidates, who in their eyes did not represent the revolutionary ideals. Eventually the total voter turnout came down to 51,6%.

The day after the elections the Muslim Brotherhood immediately declared their candidate, Mohamed Morsi, the winner of the run-off. In reaction, Ahmed Shafiq did the same. But it took a week to find out who the real winner was, although it is suggested that this time was taken by the SCAF to consider whether they would dare to pronounce Shafiq the winner. Eventually it was announced on 24 June, that Morsi won with 51,7% of the vote, representing around a quarter of the Egyptian population. While Islamists and the so-called revolutionary youth celebrated this outcome, many other Egyptians are worried about the future. Among them are Copts and many women. On 30 June Morsi will assume presidency, at the expense of military rule. However, seen the unfinished constitution, it is still unclear what power the president will have.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement that he "respects the outcome" of the election, and "expects to continue co-operation with the Egyptian administration". The White House also congratulated Mursi, and urged him to "advance national unity by reaching out to all parties and constituencies".

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POLITICAL PARTIES

Brief history

During the period between 1922, when Egypt formally gained its independence from the British mandatory power, and the revolution of 1952, Egypt experienced an era of relative political openness in which a certain measure of party pluralism was developed. The most famous party in this period was the Wafd party, which was founded in 1918 as an Egyptian delegation that pleaded for complete Egyptian independence from the British. In January 1953, all political parties were disbanded and a one-party system was officially adopted. The ruling party would be called the Liberation Group (1953-1956), the National Union (1956-1962) and the Arab Socialist Union (1962-1976), respectively.

In 1976, former Egyptian President Sadat called for the Arab Socialist Union to be split in three parts. The left wing was to be called the National Progressive Unionist Organisation (later the Tagammu), the central wing would be the Egypt Arab Socialist Organisation (later the NDP), and the right wing would be known as the Liberal Socialist Organisation (now al-Ahrar, the Liberal Party). In 1977, a new law stated that parties should not be formed on ethnic, racial, geographical or discriminatory bases due to sex, origin, religion or creed. Two parties that did obtain legal status were the Wafd Party (now known as New Wafd) and the Socialist Labour Party. One more party , the Nation Party, was legalised in the 1980s, while the last 20 years have seen the creation of around 14 new parties, bringing the total at the end of Mubarak’s rule to around 20. This system has allowed presidents Sadat and Mubarak to claim that Egypt enjoyed political pluralism and even democracy, while at the same time it manipulated the system to ensure continued supremacy of the NDP. All the other parties were relegated to a role in the very margins of Egyptian politics by the state’s (i.e. NDP) playing them off against each other, harassing them, or freezing them as the situation warrants.

As a result of this history, many of the parties in Egypt were not real political parties in the Western sense of political movements developed by certain segments of society with a particular ideology or programme. After the fall of Muburak, many parties that more closely resemble this western model were established. Also, many former non-active parties came back to the political scene with renewed vigour. In total, over 50 parties and more than 6000 independent candidates have been participating in the elections, many of them formed alliances - that are often, but not always, based on ideology - in order to cut campaign budgets and optimize electoral gains. After the elections for the upper house, the post-revolutionary political landscape will take shape and the most important parties are described below.

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