Egypt has had differing multi-party systems over the last century and a half, with a hiatus between 1953 and 1977, after which the current party law was enacted. [1] Nevertheless, in practice the National Democratic Party was the long-time ruling party and dominated the Egyptian political arena, first under president Anwar Sadat, and then president Hosni Mubarak from its foundation in 1978, up until its dissolution in the wake of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, and the ousting of Mubarak. Under Mubarak, opposition parties were allowed, but were widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. On 28 March 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces amended Political Party Law 40/1977, [1] easing restrictions on the legal establishment of new political parties in Egypt, where many new parties covering the political spectrum were formed. After the 2013 popular coup/revolution, and a further seismic political shift, another wave of new parties were formed, a large number of which were aligned with current non-partisan president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. [2] In December 2020, final results of the parliamentary election confirmed a clear majority of the pro-Sisi Mostaqbal Watan (Nation’s Future) Party. [3]
Under the new Infitah (liberal realignment) of president Anwar Sadat, and in the aftermath of the 1973 October War and the peace process with Israel, Sadat’s decree in March 1976 founded a three-party platform within the framework of the Arab Socialist Union, representing the right, the center and the left, before spinning them off on 22 November of the same year into political parties. [4] These three parties, were the first nucleus of the restricted partisan pluralism allowed by the Political Parties Law 40/1977: [4] [1]
Parties established by judicial rulings (11): [4]
In the wake of the January 2011 uprising in Egypt, the deposition of Hosni Mubarak and dissolution of his National Democratic Party that ruled for over three decades, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued a decree-law 12/2011 amending certain provisions of the Political Parties Law 40/1977, [5] after which many parties were formed.
The legislation was however criticized as discriminatory. Under the law new parties are now required to have at least 5,000 members from at least ten of Egypt's provinces. Originally, new parties were only required to have 1,000 members. This was cited as a barrier for new parties before parliamentary elections which took place at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012. [6] Also, new party leaders are required to raise at least LE1 million to publish the names of the founding members in two widely circulated dailies, seen as favoring wealthier interests. [7] No parties are able to form on the basis of religion or class, ruling out the formation of Islamic and labor parties. [6] However, in practice, religious parties have been allowed. After first being denied a license by the political parties commission, [8] the Supreme Administrative Court allowed Gamaa Islamiya to form the Building and Development Party. [9] The political parties commission allowed the Al Nour Party to be approved in May 2011, in part because it does not refer to the hudud in their electoral program. [10] An article on the Daily News Egypt website states that religious parties have gone around the ban by not explicitly advocating a state based on Islam in their political programs. [11]
On July 3, 2013, president Mohamed Morsi, the leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) was removed from power in the aftermath of the June 30 popular coup/revolution, which later resulted in a new (2014) constitution banning parties based on religion, effectively dissolving the dominant FJP. [12]
In June 2014, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became Egypt's first president not affiliated with a political party. [13] [2] However, a number of pro-Sisi parties have since formed, [3] and by 2018, 104 political parties were officially registered and approved by the Committee of Parties. [4]
Egyptian politics are subject to unique circumstances and often defy simple classification in terms of the political spectrum. Currently, over 100 registered political parties in Egypt exist. [14] Groups are sometimes associated with the political left or right, especially in international circles, according to their stance on issues. While the current Egyptian constitution prohibits the formation of political parties based on religion, there are parties that seek to establish Islamic sharia laws, or uphold the article in the constitution that states that sharia law is the main source of legislation, and others that support the formation of a secular state. The following is a categorization of political parties based on their social, economical, and political orientation, as well as their legal status: [15] [16]
Name | Founded | Leader | Political position | Ideology | Senate | House | Position on 2013 Egyptian coup d'état and 2011 Egyptian revolution | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nation's Future Party حزب مستقبل وطن Hizb Mustaqbal Watan | 2014 | Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razeq | Big tent | Egyptian nationalism Economic liberalism Militarism | 149 / 300 | 316 / 596 | Pro-Coup | |
Republican People's Party حزب الشعب الجمهورى Hezb al-Shaeb al-Gomhuri | 2012 | Hazem Omar | Centre-left | Egyptian nationalism Secularism Militarism Liberalism | 17 / 300 | 50 / 596 | Pro-Coup | |
New Wafd Party حزب الوفد المصري Ḥizb al-Wafd al-Jadīd | 1978 | Bahaa El-Din Abu Shoka | Centre-right | Egyptian nationalism Secularism Conservatism Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism National liberalism Conservative liberalism | 10 / 300 | 26 / 596 | Anti-Coup | |
Homeland Defenders Party حزب حماة الوطن Ḥizb Hamaat al-Watan | 2013 | Galal Haridy | Centre to centre-right | Centrism Militarism | 11 / 300 | 23 / 596 | Pro-Coup | |
Modern Egypt Party حزب مصر الحديثة Ḥizb Masr al-Haditha | 2011 | Nabil Deibis | Centre to centre-right | Liberalism | 4 / 300 | 11 / 596 | Pro-Coup | |
Reform and Development Party حزب الأصلاح و التنمية Ḥizb al-Islah wa al-Tanmiyah | 2009 | Mohamed Anwar Esmat Sadat | Centre | Market liberalism | 3 / 300 | 9 / 596 | Anti-Coup | |
Egyptian Social Democratic Party الحزب المصرى الديمقراطى الاجتماعى al-Ḥizb al-Maṣrī al-Dimuqrāṭī al-Ijtmāʿī | 2011 | Mervat Tallawy | Centre-left | Secularism Social democracy Social liberalism Progressivism | 3 / 300 | 7 / 596 | Anti-Coup | |
Egyptian Freedom Party حزب الحرية المصري Hizb al-Huriyat al-Misriu | 2011 | Ahmed Muhanna | Big tent | Liberalism | 1 / 300 | 7 / 596 | Anti-Coup | |
Egyptian Conference Party حزب المؤتمر المصري Ḥizb al-Muʾtamar al-Maṣrī | 2012 | Omar El-Mokhtar Semeida | Centre to centre-left | Big tent Social liberalism | 3 / 300 | 7 / 596 | Anti-Coup | |
Al-Nour Party حزب النور Ḥizb an-Nūr | 2011 | Younes Makhioun | Far-right | Salafi Islamism Wahhabism Madkhalism | 2 / 300 | 7 / 596 | Pro-Coup | |
National Progressive Unionist Rally Party حزب التجمع الوطني التقدمي الوحدوي Ḥizb al-Tagammu' al-Watani al-Taqadomi al-Wahdawi | 1977 | Sayed Abdel Aal | Left-wing | Nasserism Left-wing nationalism Democratic socialism Left-wing populism | 4 / 300 | 6 / 596 | Anti-Coup | |
Justice Party حزب العدل Ḥizb el-Adl | 2011 | Hamdi Stouhi | Centre | Big tent Secularism | 1 / 300 | 2 / 596 | ||
Erdat Gil Party حزب إرادة جيل Ḥizb 'Iiradat Jil | 2019 | Tayseer Matar | 1 / 300 | 1 / 596 | ||||
Egyptian Patriotic Movement الحركة الوطنية المصرية Ḥizb al-Ḥarakat al-Waṭaniyya al-Miṣriyya [17] | 2012 | Sayed Abdel Aal | Secularism | 2 / 300 | 0 / 596 | |||
Sadat Democratic Party حزب السادات الديمقراطي Hizb al-Saadat al-Diymuqratii | 2014 | Effat Sadat | Nationalism | 1 / 300 | 0 / 596 |
The al‑Nour Party, or "Party of The Light", was one of the political parties created in Egypt after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. It has an ultra-conservative, Islamist ideology, which believes in implementing strict Sharia law. It has been described as the political arm of the Salafi Call Society, and "by far the most prominent" of the several new Salafi parties in Egypt, which it has surpassed by virtue of its "long organizational and administrative experience" and "charismatic leaders". Its political aim is to establish a theocratic state on the lines of Wahhabism like in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was found to be the main financer of the party according to the public German television news service ARD.
The Building and Development Party is an Islamist political party in Egypt.
The Authenticity Party is one of the political parties created in Egypt after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. It has an ultra-conservative Islamist Salafist ideology, which believes in implementing strict Sharia law. The party was formed by the former head of the Virtue Party, General Adel Abdel Maksoud; he left the Virtue Party after allegedly discovering a plot which changed the moderate principles of the party. The party is considering leaving the Anti-Coup Alliance.
The Strong Egypt Party is an Egyptian centrist political party founded in 2012 by former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.
The Egyptian Popular Current is a movement in Egypt, created after the 2012 presidential elections by former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi. The movement was formed on 21 September 2012. The movement formed the Popular Current Party on 21 September 2014.
The Virtue Party is a Salafist political party. The party stated in September 2012 that it and the Renaissance Party would merge.
The Islamic Party is an Islamist political party in Egypt. The name of the party was changed in approximately December 2012. The main leaders of the group are Mohamed Abu Samra and Kamal Habib. The party is backed by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group. Most of the founders of the party are former members of the organization. Many members of the party have court rulings that bar them from running for elected office.
The Modern Egypt Party is an Egyptian political party made up of former members of the NDP. The party withdrew from the Egyptian Front.
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.
The Civil Democratic Current is an alliance of political parties that would have run for the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election, but it withdrew. The alliance is working with other parties, including the New Wafd Party, to attempt to amend the current parliamentary election law, which limits the number of party list seats to 120 of 567 total seats.
The Egyptian Wafd Alliance was an alliance of political parties that would have run in the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election. The Egyptian Social Democratic Party left the alliance and will run independently. The Tagammu Party left the Wafd Alliance and will run for individual seats. The Justice Party announced on 15 February 2015 that it will not participate in the election. The New Wafd Party, Conservative Party and Reform and Development Party joined the For the Love of Egypt alliance.
The My Homeland Egypt Party is an Egyptian political party that is composed of "diehards" of the Hosni Mubarak-era National Democratic Party.
The Independent Current Coalition is an alliance of political parties contesting the 2014 Egyptian parliamentary election in a joint list with the Egyptian Front, called Egypt.
The Egyptian Front is an alliance of political parties contesting the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election in a joint list with the Independent Current Coalition, called Egypt.
The 25-30 Alliance is an alliance of independents created to run in the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election of 17 October to 2 December 2015.
The Call of Egypt is an electoral alliance in Egypt that competed in the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election. The coalition has accused the Nour Party of cooperating with NDP-era tycoon Ahmed Ezz in the run up to the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election, though the Nour Party has denied the claim. The Revolutionary Guards Party, after initially joining the alliance in February 2015, decided to run for the election on its own. The coalition is seen as being supportive of current president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The New Independent Party is an Egyptian political party that is made up of former members of the National Democratic Party.
The Reawakening of Egypt, also translated Egypt's Renaissance, is an electoral alliance in Egypt that was established by Abdelgelil Mostafa to contest the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election. It had candidates in the race, but later withdrew them.
For the Love of Egypt is a political alliance created by the General Intelligence Service. FLE contested the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election.
The National Front Alliance is an alliance of political parties that contested the 2015 Egyptian parliamentary election and in the Dakahlia Governorate.
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