Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies

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The al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) is an Egyptian research institute specializing in political science created in 1968 as part of the al-Ahram Foundation. [1]

Contents

Independence

In October 2019, during the Abdel Fattah el-Sisi presidency, Agence France Presse described APCSS as "state-supportive". [2]

Sociopolitical analyses

The APCSS ran opinion polls to predict outcomes of the first round of the 2012 Egyptian presidential election on 23–24 May 2012, the first following the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Polls published by the APCSS on 14 and 19 May put Amr Moussa in the first place and Ahmed Shafik in second, without 32 and 23 percent of votes, respectively, both well ahead of Mohamed Morsi with 15 percent support. The polls did show Morsi's support increasing. [3] The result was that Morsi received slightly more support than Shafik in the first round, and won the second-round election, becoming the first democratically elected president of Egypt.

During the 2019 Egyptian protests of September 2019, former member of parliament and member of the APCSS Amr el-Shobaki commented on the role of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which former President Morsi had been a prominent member, in the protests. El-Shobaki said that after the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état that had overthrown Morsi, the Brotherhood remained weakened and was neither the organizer nor a participant in the 20 September protests. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Egypt</span> Political system of Egypt

The politics of Egypt takes place within the framework of a republican semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. In the current system, the President is elected for a six-year term. He can appoint up to 5 percent of the parliament. Furthermore, the President has the power to dissolve Parliament through Article 137. The Parliament of Egypt is the oldest legislative chamber in Africa and the Middle East. The unicameral Parliament has the ability to impeach the President through Article 161. With 2020 elections to the new Senate, the chamber became bicameral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Shafik</span> Egyptian politician (born 1941)

Ahmed Mohamed Shafik Zaki is an Egyptian politician and former presidential candidate. He was a senior commander in the Egyptian Air Force and later served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 29 January 2011 to 3 March 2011 under Hosni Mubarak.

The History of Republican Egypt spans the period of modern Egyptian history from the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 to the present day, which saw the toppling of the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, the establishment of a presidential republic, and a period of profound economic, and political change in Egypt, and throughout the Arab world. The abolition of a monarchy and aristocracy viewed widely as sympathetic to Western interests, particularly since the ousting of Khedive Isma'il Pasha, over seven decades earlier, helped strengthen the authentically Egyptian character of the republic in the eyes of its supporters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Egyptian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Egypt in 2012, with the first round on 23 and 24 May 2012 and the second on 16 and 17 June. The 2012 Egyptian Presidential election was the first democratic presidential election of Egypt's history. The Muslim Brotherhood declared early 18 June 2012, that its candidate, Mohamed Morsi, won Egypt's presidential election, which would be the first victory of an Islamist as head of state in the Arab world. It was the second presidential election in Egypt's history with more than one candidate, following the 2005 election, and the first presidential election after the 2011 Egyptian revolution which ousted president Hosni Mubarak, during the Arab Spring. However, Morsi's presidency was brief and short-lived, and he later faced massive protests for and against his rule, only to be ousted in a military coup in July that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011–12 Egyptian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt from 28 November 2011 to 11 January 2012, following the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, after which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) dissolved Parliament. However the dissolution was ruled unconstitutional and Parliament was reinstated. Originally, the elections had been scheduled to be held in September 2011, but were postponed amid concerns that established parties would gain undue advantage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014)</span> State crisis between 2011 and 2014

The Egyptian Crisis is a period that started with the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and ended with the installation of a counterrevolutionary regime under the presidency of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2014. It was a tumultuous three years of political and social unrest, characterized by mass protests, a series of popular elections, deadly clashes, and military reinforcement. The events have had a lasting effect on the country's current course, its political system and its society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamed Morsi</span> President of Egypt from 2012 to 2013

Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayyat was an Egyptian politician, engineer, and professor who served as the fifth president of Egypt, from 30 June 2012 to 3 July 2013, when General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office in a coup d'état after protests in June. An Islamist affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood organization, Morsi led the Freedom and Justice Party from 2011 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian Constituent Assembly of 2012</span>

The Egyptian Constituent Assembly of 2012 (CA) is the committee for the creation of a new Constitution of Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood had announced that the Constituent Assembly would vote on the constitution on 29 November 2012. The Constituent Assembly will be able to avoid its possible dissolution by voting on the constitution earlier than the release of a ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court on the assembly's legitimacy; the ruling was expected to occur on 2 December 2012. The court has postponed the verdict in response to protests. The Constituent Assembly approved the constitution on 29 November 2012; more than 16 hours were spent voting on its articles.

Following the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt became one of the main forces contending for political power in Egypt against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and other established centers of the former Hosni Mubarak regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdel Fattah el-Sisi</span> President of Egypt since 2014

Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian military in 2014, Sisi served as Egypt’s deputy prime minister from 2013 to 2014, as its minister of defense from 2012 to 2013, and as its director of military intelligence from 2010 to 2012. He was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal in January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Salvation Front (Egypt)</span> Political party in Egypt

The National Salvation Front is an alliance of Egyptian political parties, formed to defeat Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's 22 November 2012 constitutional declaration. The National Front for Salvation of the Revolution has more than 35 groups involved overall. Observers are concerned that the NSF will not be able to become a coherent political force because the different parties agree on opposing Morsi, but their views on other subjects diverge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012–2013 Egyptian protests</span> Period of unrest around the 2012 presidential elections and 2013 coup

The 2012–2013 Egyptian protests were part of the crisis in Egypt including the June 2013 protests, the July 2013 coup d'état, and part of the post-coup unrest. They saw varying opposition against three contiguous heads of state; namely, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Muslim Brotherhood, and the de facto ruling Egyptian Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamarod</span> Early 2010s political movement in Egypt against President Mohamed Morsi

Tamarod was an Egyptian grassroots movement that was founded to register opposition to President Mohamed Morsi and force him to call early presidential elections. The goal was to collect 15 million signatures by 30 June 2013, the one-year anniversary of Morsi's inauguration. On 29 June 2013 the movement claimed to have collected more than 22 million signatures (22,134,460). A counter campaign was launched in support of Morsi's presidency which claimed to have collected 11 million signatures. The movement was planning to become a political party following the 2014 Egyptian presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Egyptian coup d'état</span> Military coup overthrowing Mohamed Morsi

The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi from power and suspended the Egyptian constitution of 2012. The move came after the military's ultimatum for the government to "resolve its differences" with protesters during widespread national protests. The military arrested Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders, and declared Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court Adly Mansour as the interim president of Egypt. The announcement was followed by demonstrations and clashes between supporters and opponents of the move throughout Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2013 Egyptian protests</span> Demonstrations against President Mohamed Morsi

The 30 June protests occurred in Egypt on 30 June 2013, marking the one-year anniversary of Mohamed Morsi's inauguration as president. The events ended with the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état after mass protests across Egypt demanding the immediate resignation of the president. The rallies were partly a response to Tamarod, an ostensibly grassroots movement that launched a petition in April 2013, calling for Morsi and his government to step down. Tamarod claimed to have collected more than 22 million signatures for their petition by June 30, although this figure was not verified by independent sources. A counter-campaign in support of Morsi's presidency, named Tagarod, claimed to have collected 26 million signatures by the same date, but this figure was also unverified and not mentioned in media nearly as much as Tamarod's, with no reliable sources repeating it. The movements in opposition to Morsi culminated in the June 30 protests that occurred across the country. According to the Egyptian military, which calculated the number of protesters via helicopter scans of demonstration perimeters across the country, the June 30 protests had 32 million protesters, making them "the biggest protests in Egypt's history." However, independent observers raised concerns that the Egyptian government exaggerated the actual number of anti-Morsi protestors, with some research determining that only around one to two million people protested across the country against Morsi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Egyptian presidential election</span> Election in Egypt

Presidential elections were held in Egypt between 26 and 28 May 2014. There were only two candidates, former Egyptian defence minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Egyptian Popular Current candidate Hamdeen Sabahi. El-Sisi won the election in a landslide victory, having received 97% of votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-coup unrest in Egypt (2013–2014)</span> Protests and clashes following the coup

Protests against the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état erupted in July 2013. Immediately following the removal of President Mohamed Morsi by the Egyptian Armed Forces on 3 July 2013 amid demonstrations against Morsi's rule, many protesters amassed near the Rabia Al-Adawiya Mosque to call for Morsi's return to power and condemn the military, while others demonstrated in support of the military and interim government. Deadly clashes such as Rabaa massacre continued for several days, with three particularly bloody incidents being described by officials as "massacres" perpetrated by security forces. During the month of Ramadan, prime minister Hazem al-Beblawy threatened to disperse the ongoing Pro-Morsi sit-ins in Rabaa al-Adaweya square and al-Nahda square. The government crackdown of these protests occurred in a violent dispersal on 14 August 2013. In mid-August, the violence directed by the army towards the protesters escalated, with hundreds killed, and the government declaring a month-long nighttime curfew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt)</span> Political party in Egypt

The Freedom and Justice Party is an Egyptian Islamist political party. The ex-president of the party, Mohamed Morsi, won the 2012 presidential election, and in the 2011 parliamentary election it won more seats than any other party. It is nominally independent, but has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, the largest political group in Egypt. The party was banned and dissolved in 2014; however, it continues to function underground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Egyptian constitutional referendum</span>

A constitutional referendum was held in Egypt on 14 and 15 January 2014 and with Egyptians abroad voting between 8 and 12 January. The new constitution was approved by 98.1% of voters. Turnout was 38.6%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Egyptian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Egypt between 26 and 28 March 2018, though Egyptians abroad voted from 16 to 18 March 2018. On 19 January, incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi formally announced he would run for a second and final term. El-Sisi won the election with 97%, according to the official results. A runoff would have taken place 19 to 21 April outside the country and 24 to 26 April within the country if no candidate had reached 50% of the vote. The election had a turnout of roughly 41%, lower than the 2014 election's 47%. A 2019 constitutional change allowed El-Sisi to remain in power until 2030 instead of 2022.

References

  1. "About us". al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. 2004-07-05. Archived from the original on 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  2. 1 2 "Muslim Brotherhood sidelined in Egypt protests". The Guardian (Nigeria) . AFP. 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  3. "Three days ahead of presidential election, Moussa and Shafiq top poll". Egypt Independent . 2012-05-20. Archived from the original on 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2019-10-04.