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Egypt has had differingmulti-party systems since independence, with a hiatus between 1953 and 1977, after which the current party law was enacted.[1] Nevertheless, in practice theNational Democratic Party was the long-time ruling party and dominated the Egyptian political arena, first under presidentAnwar Sadat, and then presidentHosni Mubarak from its foundation in 1978, up until its dissolution in the wake of theEgyptian 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, theSupreme 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 the2013 popular coup/revolution, and a further seismic political shift, another wave of new parties were formed, a large number of which were aligned with currentnon-partisan president,Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.[2] In December 2020, final results of the parliamentaryelection confirmed a clear majority of the pro-Sisi Mostaqbal Watan (Nation’s Future) Party.[3]
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Liberation Rally: 23 January 1953–28 May 1957 (4 years, 120 days).svg)
National Union: 28 May 1957–21 May 1962 (4 years, 358 days).svg)
Arab Socialist Union: 21 May 1962–2 October 1978 (16 years, 134 days)Under the newInfitah (liberal realignment) of presidentAnwar Sadat, and in the aftermath of the1973 October War and thepeace 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 theJanuary 2011 uprising in Egypt, the deposition ofHosni Mubarak and dissolution of hisNational Democratic Party that ruled for over three decades, theSupreme 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 ofEgypt's provinces. Originally, new parties were only required to have 1,000 members. This was cited as a barrier for new parties beforeparliamentary elections which took place at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012.[6] Also, new party leaders are required to raise at leastLE1 million to publish the names of the founding members in two widely circulateddailies, seen as favoring wealthier interests.[7] No parties are able to form on the basis ofreligion orclass, ruling out the formation ofIslamic andlabor 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 allowedGamaa Islamiya to form theBuilding 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 thehudud 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, presidentMohamed Morsi, the leader of theFreedom and Justice Party (FJP) was removed from power in the aftermath of theJune 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 firstpresident 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 thepolitical spectrum. Currently, over 100 registered political parties in Egypt exist.[14] Groups are sometimes associated with the politicalleft orright, especially in international circles, according to their stance on issues. While the currentEgyptian constitution prohibits the formation of political parties based on religion, there are parties that seek to establish Islamicsharia 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 asecular 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 on2013 coup d'état and2011 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 toCentre-right | Egyptian nationalism Secularism Militarism Liberalism Social 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 tocentre-right | Centrism Militarism | 11 / 300 | 23 / 596 | Pro-Coup | |
| Modern Egypt Party حزب مصر الحديثة Ḥizb Masr al-Haditha | 2011 | Nabil Deibis | Centre tocentre-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 tocentre-left | Big tent Social liberalism | 3 / 300 | 7 / 596 | Anti-Coup | |
| Al-Nour Party حزب النور Ḥizb an-Nūr | 2011 | Yunis Makhyun | Far-right | SalafiIslamism 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 [ar] 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 | Centre | Secularism | 2 / 300 | 0 / 596 | ||
| Sadat Democratic Party حزب السادات الديمقراطي Hizb al-Saadat al-Diymuqratii | 2014 | Effat Sadat | Nationalism | 1 / 300 | 0 / 596 | |||
