Egypt

Table of Contents

Introduction

Egypt gained its independence from Britain in 1922. Three decades later in 1952, the constitutional monarchy was abolished and the Arab Republic of Egypt was established. Egypt is a republic with a president, a prime minister, and a bicameral parliament. Its president serves a six-year term but may be re-elected without limits. President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak has been in power since October 1981.

History of the Constitution

• The Egyptian Constitution (English Text, Arabic Text) was approved by referendum on September 11, 1971.


• Egypt was the first country in the Middle East to establish a Western-style codified constitution. Egypt’s first constitution was drafted in 1879 by then-Prime Minister Mohamed Sherif Pasha. The document was inspired by the French constitution, as the Prime Minister had been schooled in France. Another constitution was established in 1882, but was abrogated after the British occupied Egypt in the same year. Two subsequent constitutions were drafted in 1883 and 1913.


• In 1923, a new constitution was established that declared Egypt a parliamentary democracy headed by a king. The monarch was to be chosen from among the descendents of Mohammad Ali, the founder of modern Egypt. This constitution advocated a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. However, in 1930 this document was scrapped and replaced by an autocratic constitution, which gave King Fouad absolute power over the executive branch.


• After nationwide protests led by Cairo University students, the 1923 Constitution was re-instated in 1934.


• In July 1952, Egypt’s political system was transformed after a successful coup by the Free Officers, an underground group of Egyptian army officers. After the coup, a newly-established Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) chose military hero Muhammad Naguib as the new president and prime minister of Egypt. A revolutionary constitution was created in 1953, which afforded sweeping powers to the leaders of the Free Officers without parliamentary oversight.


• By 1954, Gamal Abdel Nasser had taken the post of prime minister from Naguib and had negotiated the withdrawal of British forces from the Suez Canal. After an assassination attempt by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Nasser forcefully took the presidency from Naguib and put the former president under house arrest in Cairo. The next year witnessed a severe crackdown on members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups, including the Wafd party and the Communist party. In January 1956, a new constitution was announced. It called for the establishment of an electoral system in which candidates were required to receive 50 percent of a National Assembly vote in order to run for the presidency. The president would then be chosen by a yes-or-no public referendum.


• A 1958 constitutional overhaul retained the electoral process established in 1956. In other ways, the document was changed to reflect Nasser’s socialist leanings.


• The most recent constitution was established in September 1971. The electoral process was retained, although a candidate need only be supported by one-third of the People’s Assembly to run for the presidency.


• An amendment to the current constitution was passed by the People’s Assembly in April of 1980. The amendment, which has caused much controversy in Egypt, allows the president to be elected for an indefinite number of terms. This change replaced the stipulation that the president may only be elected for two terms. Two other amendments were instigated in 2005 and 2007 by President Hosni Mubarak. The 2005 amendments created multi-candidate political elections for the presidency, but enforced severe restrictions on both independent and partisan candidates.


• The latest amendments were passed by national referendum in March of 2007 and changed 34 articles of the constitution. Opposition members, who then constituted 20 percent of the Egyptian parliament, boycotted the debates surrounding the amendments and eventually the vote itself. They complained that their input had been ignored. Several of the new amendments focus on transforming Egypt from a socialist to a capitalist system. The amendments also increase the power of the elected parliament, which until now has been the weakest branch of government.


• The changes also include heightened restrictions on the Muslim Brotherhood, a group whose popularity (in 2005 its candidates won 20 percent of the seats in the National Assembly) and disdain for Mubarak’s National Democratic Party poses a threat to the current president. One new amendment restricts the Muslim Brotherhood by requiring that any party wishing to nominate a presidential candidate must hold at least 3 percent of the parliament and must have been a registered political party for at least five years prior to the election. Since the Muslim Brotherhood is technically banned and its members may only run as independents, it may not nominate a presidential candidate. The new amendments also prohibit “any political activity or political party based on any religious background or foundation,” thus deeming the Muslim Brotherhood not only illegal but unconstitutional.

Reforms Under Discussion

• Egyptian opposition groups and international observers argue that some of the recent amendments to the constitution fall short of what would be required to create truly competitive presidential elections. Opposition members have presented suggestions about further constitutional and legal changes that would be required for presidential elections to be truly free and fair. These include: amending Article 76 to loosen restrictions on candidates and political parties; amending Article 77 to limit the duration of presidential terms (decreasing from six to four years) and their number (from unlimited to two); strengthening provisions for judicial supervision of elections; lifting the state of emergency; and ending violations of civil and political liberties.


• Click here for a detailed discussion of the new amendments and their implications.

State Institutions

The Egyptian Constitution (English Text, Arabic Text) vests executive power in the president, the prime minister, and the council of ministers. The president heads the executive branch and serves a six-year term. The Constitution was amended in 1980 to allow for unlimited presidential re-election.

Executive Branch

The President

The president is the head of State and:

• Is elected by popular vote. Prior to a 2005 constitutional amendment, the president was nominated by the People’s Assembly and then approved by a national referendum.
• May serve an indefinite number of terms.
• May appoint one or more vice presidents (although President Mubarak has never done so).
• Has the power to appoint and dismiss vice presidents, ministers, civil and military officials, and diplomatic representatives.
• Has the sole authority to appoint and dismiss the prime minister.
• May appoint a vice president or a prime minister to carry out his duties if he becomes temporarily unable to do so.
• Is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
• Has the right to grant amnesty and to reduce sentences.
• May call for a national referendum.
• May, with the approval of the People’s Assembly, issue decrees having the force of law, but only for a defined period of time.
• Presides over the Supreme Council of Judicial Organizations.
• Can dissolve the People’s Assembly, but only following a referendum or under martial law.
• Can proclaim a state of emergency for a limited period, which can only be extended with the approval of the People’s Assembly. The current state of emergency has been in effect since 1981. In 2010, the People’s Assembly voted to extend Egypt's state of emergency for two more years.
• Only one article in the Constitution (Article 85) provides checks and balances on presidential power. It states that the president can be impeached if two-thirds of the Assembly accuses him of “high treason or of committing a criminal act.” In this case, he is temporarily replaced by the vice president and is tried by a special tribunal set up by law. President Mubarak has never enacted the law needed to implement this article nor has he appointed a vice president.

Muhammad Hosni Mubarak has been president since October 14, 1981. He was originally Anwar Sadat’s vice president, and assumed the presidency after the latter’s assassination. Opposition figures have expressed their frustration at reports that the president’s son, Gamal Mubarak, is being groomed for the presidency.

On May 10, 2005, the People's Assembly approved an amendment to Article 76 of the Egyptian Constitution to allow multi-candidate elections for the presidency. The amendment was approved on May 25, 2005 by a public referendum.

Before the introduction of the 2005 constitutional amendments, the presidential candidate was nominated by a two-thirds majority. His appointment was then approved by a national referendum. This stipulation was altered once in 2005 and again in 2007. Under the latest amendment, a presidential candidate may only be nominated by a party that has been licensed for at least five years at the time of the election. Furthermore, the party must hold at least 5 percent of the seats in parliament.

Articles 73 through 85 of the Egyptian Constitution detail the powers of the presidency and the regulations governing presidential elections.

The Prime Minister

The prime minister:

• Is appointed by the president, but can only serve with the confidence of the parliament.
• Assumes power if the president is unable to carry out his functions and no vice president has been appointed.
• Presents the government’s program to the parliament for approval.
• Supervises the work of the government.
• May choose to speak at any time during parliamentary sessions. May choose to become a member of the People’s Assembly and thus be permitted to vote in parliament.

Ahmed Nazeef became prime minister on July 9, 2004. He has temporarily taken power twice since his appointment – once in 2004 when President Mubarak underwent back surgery, and again in March 2010 during the president’s gall bladder surgery.

The Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers or Cabinet (official website in English, Arabic):

• Is appointed by the president, but can only serve with the confidence of the parliament.
• Drafts the general policy of the state and supervises its implementation.
• Directs and follows through on the workings of the ministries and their affiliated organs.
• Issues administrative and executive decisions in accordance with laws and decrees, and supervises their implementation.
• Drafts the general budget of the State.

A minor cabinet reshuffle took place in January, 2010 in which Education Minister Youssri Al Jamal was replaced by Ahmad Zaki Badr, the president of Ain Shams University in Cairo. The former minister had been criticized in the local press for allowing a decline in educational standards in the country. Mubarak also appointed Ala'a Fahmi, the chief of the national post service, to fill the post of Minister of Transport. Before the appointment, the position was vacant following the resignation of Mohammad Lutfi Mansour after a train crash left ninteen dead in October 2009.

Click here for a list of current cabinet members.

Legislative Branch

The 1971 constitution was amended to create a bicameral legislature on May 22, 1980.

Almost all legislation is initiated by the executive. In some cases the executive passes legislation without any debate. The legislature’s ability to change the government or to amend legislation remains severely limited.

The People’s Assembly (Maglis al-Shaab)

The People’s Assembly:

• Is composed of 518 members, 508 of whom are elected by universal suffrage. The remaining ten are appointed by the president. Assembly members serve five-year terms.
• Holds legislative powers.
• Nominates the president.
• Proposes laws and enacts bills.
• Approves a general plan for economic and social development and the general budget of the state.
• May create standing, temporary, and fact-finding committees.
• Adopts resolutions by an absolute majority of the attending members.
• Can hold a vote of no-confidence in regards to any minister. If the vote passes, the minister is required to resign. Should that happen against the president’s wishes, the matter may be put to a referendum.

The Assembly passed a bill in June 2009 that added 64 seats to the People’s Assembly (previously composed of 454 members) and allocated them to women.

Articles 86 through 136 of the Egyptian Constitution discuss the powers afforded to the People’s Assembly.

The Consultative Council (Maglis al-Shura or Shura Council)

The Shura Council:

• Is composed of 264 members, 176 of whom are elected by popular absolute majority vote. The remaining 88 seats are appointed by the president. At least half of the elected 176 members must be workers or farmers.
• Functions only in a consultative role.
• Has a mandatory consultative role on laws that implement constitutional provisions.
• May be consulted by the head of state on other draft laws.
• May be dissolved by the president according to Article 204 of the constitution only “when necessary,” but elections for a new council must be held within 60 days.
• Members of the Shura Council serve six-year terms. Elections and appointments are executed on a rotating basis, with one-half of the council renewed every three years.

See Articles 194 through 205 of the Egyptian Constitution for other stipulations relating to the Shura Council.

Elections for the Consultative Council were last held on June 1 and June 8, 2010 for 88 Assembly seats. After the election, President Mubarak appointed the remaining 44 seats. The NDP dominated the elections, which were largely seen as unfair as the 2007 amendments precluded many opposition groups from registering. Furthermore, election monitors organized by civil society groups reported numerous electoral violations.

Judiciary

Egypt’s judiciary is based on a civil law system drawn from European (mainly French) law, except for matters of personal status, which are based on religious laws. Personal status laws have been codified for Muslims and Coptic Christians.

The independence and inviolability of the judiciary are guaranteed by Articles 64 and 65 of the constitution.

The Office of the public prosecutor is independent from the Ministry of Justice, but the Public Prosecutor is a presidential appointee. Judges are appointed by governmental decree.

Judiciary Councils

• The Supreme Judicial Council (Maglis al-Qada al-Aala) attends to matters of appointment, promotion, and transfer of judges. The council is headed by the chief justice, and is composed of two judges of the Supreme Court, the president of the Court of Appeal, the president of the Tribunal of First Instance in Cairo, the attorney general, and the under-secretary of state for justice.


• The Council of State (Maglis al-Dawla), established by Article 172 of the constitution, is an administrative court with jurisdiction over cases involving public officials.

Courts

Lower Courts

Courts of First Instance are subdivided into civil and criminal courts. Summary Tribunals (Mahakim Guziya) settle minor offenses and misdemeanors, civil and commercial cases under 250 Egyptian pounds ($60), labor issues, and minor personal status matters. Lower courts have designated sections for personal status cases, and family courts were established in 2004 to relieve pressure on the over-burdened court system.

Summary Tribunals of First Instance (Mahakim Kulliya) treat appeals from the summary tribunals, as well as civil and commercial cases exceeding 250 Egyptian pounds.

Appeals to lower court rulings are brought before the Courts of Appeal.

Courts of Appeal

There are seven High Courts of Appeal (Mahakim al-Istinaf) that hear appeals from Tribunals of First Instance.

Court of Cassation

The highest court in Egypt is the Court of Cassation (Mahkamat al-Naqd). It serves as the final court of appeal for all lower court cases, except those tried in military, administrative, or constitutional courts.

Other Courts

• The Supreme Constitutional Court: Established in 1969, this court has exclusive jurisdiction over questions concerning the constitutionality of laws, rules, and regulations. It is empowered by Articles 174-178 of the constitution, and its decisions are published in the official Gazette.


• Political Parties Court: Established by Article 8 of Law No. 40 of 1977, this court reviews appeals by political parties that have been refused licensing by the Political Parties Affairs Committee (PPAC).


• Military Court: Military courts try cases involving the armed forces, but during a state of emergency the president may transfer other crimes to military court. Since 1992, civilians charged with terrorism and other security-related offenses have been referred by the president to military courts. Since military judges are appointed by the Ministry of Defense to short, renewable two-year terms, these tribunals are subordinate to the executive branch. Verdicts by military courts are subject to review only by a body of military judges, rather than by a court. They also must be approved by the president. Allegations of forced confessions by defendants are routine.


• State Security Emergency Courts: Were abolished by parliamentary legislation on June 16, 2003. The courts used to hear matters involving violations of “security” measures in regular Egyptian law, such as economic crimes, certain political crimes, terrorism, theft of public money, espionage, and possession of explosives. The right to appeal a conviction in state security courts was limited to procedural grounds. According to new legislation, security crimes will be tried in ordinary criminal courts. This will give defendants the ability to appeal on substantive as well as procedural grounds. Nevertheless, State Security Emergency courts remain in existence and try cases regarding violations of the emergency law.
  

  Sentences issued by the State Security Emergency Courts cannot be appealed except on procedural grounds. Their rulings are subject to approval by the president, who can annul both convictions and acquittals.

  Ordinary civilian courts are considered to be relatively competent, impartial, and independent of the executive branch. However, political and security cases are usually placed under the jurisdiction of either the military courts or the State Security Emergency courts, both of which answer directly to the president and deny defendants many constitutional protections.

  The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) estimates that there are approximately 13,000 to 16,000 people detained without charge on suspicion of security or political offenses, as well as several thousand people who have been convicted and are serving sentences on such charges.

Recent Developments in the Judiciary

• In recent years, the Egyptian judiciary has witnessed a struggle between pro-government factions and those advocating for increased judicial independence. In 2006, judges took to the streets to protest recent rulings by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), claiming these decisions exposed the SJC’s inappropriate relationship with the executive branch. The judges advocated ending the Ministry of Justice’s supervision of the judicial budget, replacing the SJC with the Judge’s Club as the body appointed to represent judges’ interests, ensuring fair and just elections, ending the state of emergency in the country, and restoring various civil liberties that were impeded by the 2005 amendments to the Constitution.


• One of the 2007 constitutional amendments has been particularly controversial within the judiciary. Article 88 replaces the provision that judges must monitor elections and stipulates that an independent electoral commission will be established for this purpose. Members of this commission are not required to be current or former judges, and the parliament will control its membership and its operational framework. Many Egyptian judges as well as international observers doubt that such a body would be independent from the executive.


• Parliament endorsed a law on May 8, 2007 that raises the official retirement age for judges from 68 to 70, in a move critics claim is intended to keep long-time partisans of the NDP in key judicial positions.


• On April 21, 2007, the People's Assembly endorsed a new military tribunals law that creates an appeals process for military personnel or civilians sentenced by military courts. Representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Wafd, and leftist parties opposed the law on the grounds that it is a superficial attempt to justify the recent amendment of Article 179 of the constitution, which gives the president the authority to remand civilians suspected of terrorism offenses to military instead of civilian courts.

Military

The Egyptian Armed Forces consist of the Egyptian Land Army, the Egyptian Navy, and the Egyptian Air Force. The Ministry of Defense handles the military’s budgetary, administrative, industrial, and policy issues. The chief of staff of the armed forces (the senior deputy to the commander-in-chief) is in charge of general operations of the military.

All four presidents since the 1952 Revolution – Naguib, Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak – have been high-ranking military officers.

Political Environment

Political Parties

The ruling party is the National Democratic Party (al-Hizb al-Watani al-Demoqrati). The NDP was established in 1978 by Anwar Sadat after the dissolution of the Arab Socialist Union into three political organizations. It represents the centrist wing of the group, and its ideology is a mix between democratic socialism and Arab nationalism. The NDP espouses the official discourse of the ruling regime, and claims approximately 1.9 million members. It has been Egypt’s ruling party since President Hosni Mubarak gained power in 1981 after President Sadat’s assassination. It dominates all branches of government, as well as the media and the educational system. It also controls the newspaper al-Watani al-Youm.

Since 2002, the NDP has attempted to modernize and democratize itself so as to improve its reputation with the Egyptian people and to assuage the West. In 2002, the party began holding internal elections for all levels except the political bureau. It also introduced six members to the General Secretariat who were not considered part of Egypt’s traditional elite.

In recent years, the NDP has witnessed a divide between the old guard and the younger, more reformist members of the party. The two sides have clashed over how much to cooperate with other political parties, how to handle NDP dissenters, and whether to allow female or Coptic candidates to run for positions within the party. The NDP formed a new 29-member secretariat general on February 1, 2006 in a move observers believe signals a clear shift in the party in favor of younger members close to Gamal Mubarak, the president's son. The move made Gamal Mubarak one of three deputy secretary generals, a position that has helped his chances of being nominated to the presidency.

Legal Opposition Parties

Egypt’s opposition parties remain structurally weak and are plagued by aging leadership, a history of infighting, and petty personal politics. Furthermore, the Emergency Law (Arabic text) has inhibited the development of political parties. It prohibits parties from holding rallies without prior permission, which is rarely granted. It also gives the security powers vast and unchecked powers to arrest and detain individuals.

• The Wafd Party (Hizb al-Wafd) was first established in 1919 by Saad Zaghloul to lead the struggle for Egypt's liberation from British domination. It was re-launched in 1978 as the New Wafd Party. It is a staunch advocate of political and economic liberalism. Its economic program is similar to that of the NDP, and it promotes free-market capitalism. However, internal conflicts have arisen over the leadership’s refusal to implement a democratic election process within the party. Tensions over this issue have led the group to splinter, and many of its members (including prominent party figures) broke off and joined the al-Ghad party in 2004. The party's chairman, Noman Goma’a, was dismissed after the 2005 presidential elections for continual abuses of power. The chairman of the party since 2010 is Dr. el-Sayyid el-Badawi, who aims to modernize the party’s discourse and to reform its internal organization. The party publishes the newspaper al-Wafd.


• The National Progressive Unionist or Rally Party (Hizb al-Tagammu) was established in 1976 the Arab Socialist Union dissolved into three political organizations. It advocates for the establishment of a socialist society reached by popular participation in government. The party includes Nasserists, Marxists, and Arab nationalists, and is currently led by Chairman Mohamed Refaat El-Saeed. In recent years, the party has been plagued by internal divisions based on ideology, whether or not to cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood, and the decreasing popularity of the group. It publishes the newspaper al-Ahali, although its circulation has been drastically fallen in recent years.


• The Arab Nasserist Party (al-Hizb al-Arabi al-Nasseri) was established in 1992 by Diaaeddin Dawoud, and considers itself to be an extension of the 1952 revolution led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. The party’s ideology promotes socialism and Arab nationalism, and asserts that Egypt has been too subservient to foreign powers in the past. It advocates self-reliance in economic development and a central role for the state. Its leader, Chairman Diaaeddin Dawoud, has fought to maintain his position despite challenges from the younger wing of the party and rumors that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2007. As a result of this and other internal divisions, many members have defected to two splinter groups – the al-Karam Party and the al-Wifaq Party. The Arab Nasserist Party maintains the newspaper al-Arabi, which is known for its harsh criticism of the Mubarak regime in the face of political and economic retribution from the regime.


• Al-Ghad (“Tomorrow”) Party (Hizb al-Ghad) was granted legal recognition on October 27, 2004, after three rejections. It was founded by former Wafd Party member Ayman Nour after he was expelled from the Wafd by Chairman Noman Goma’a. Many of its members are former Wafd supporters who had become disillusioned by the autocratic methods of their party’s chairman. Al-Ghad advocates for a parliamentary system in which power rests with the prime minister rather than with the president. It espouses a liberal agenda, calling for democratic reform and the empowerment of women. Unlike many other Egyptian political parties, al-Ghad engages in dialogue with all parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling NDP party.
  
  On January 29, 2005, just months after al-Ghad’s establishment, its leader Ayman Nour was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and arrested on charges of forging signatures for his party. His imprisonment was seen as politically-motivated, and coincided with the government’s decision to ban the party’s newspaper Al Ghad. The leader’s trial was postponed on July 6, 2005 after a key government witness recanted his testimony against Nour and asked for protection from security officials whom he said had threatened his family. Nour was jailed again on December 6, 2005, along with several other defendants. He subsequently lost his parliamentary seat to a former security officer backed by the ruling NDP. Authorities released Nour on February 18, 2009 for health reasons – he had served three years of a five-year sentence for forgery. Some observers attributed Nour's release to a desire to improve relations with the United States; the Washington Post had called on the Obama administration in a February 16, 2009 editorial not to invite President Mubarak to Washington unless he released Nour. In March 2010, Nour was approved as al-Ghad’s presidential candidate for the 2011 elections.


• The Egyptian Movement for Change (Kefaya or “Enough”) was established in 2004 with the aim of reforming Egypt’s political atmosphere and opposing the reelection of President Mubarak to a fifth term. After Mubarak won the 2005 election, Kefaya played a leading role in the forming of the National Front for Change to influence the 2006 parliamentary elections. Since its formation, Kefaya has held large-scale demonstrations against the Mubarak regime and its attempts to secure Gamal Mubarak the presidency. Kefaya aims to pressure the government to remove the state of emergency that has been in place since 1981, and to allow freedom of assembly and other personal freedoms. Click here to read Kefaya’s manifesto in English.


• The Socialist Liberal Party (Al-Ahrar) was established in 1976 after the the Arab Socialist Union disbanded into three political groupings. Al-Ahrar originally represented the socialist faction of the dissolved group, but has become more liberal in recent years. It encourages capitalism, free-market economy, and small government. Al-Ahrar has also become more religious over the years. In 1987 it joined the Muslim Brotherhood and the Labor Party to form the “Islamic Alliance,” and subsequently lost much of its membership to the Wafd Party. After the death of its leader in 1998, the party was torn apart by internal tensions, and the government shut down the party and froze its political activities. However, it is still permitted to published its newspaper, al-Ahrar.


• Twelve Egyptian political parties joined a bloc called the United National Front for Change during the 2005 parliamentary elections. These parties included: the New Wafd Party (NWP), the Nasserist Arab Democratic Party (Nasserites), the National Progressive Unionist Group (Tagammu), the Egyptian Movement for Change (Kefaya), the Centre Party, the Karama Party, the National Coalition for Reform, the National Gathering for Democratic Change, the Labor Party, the Popular Campaign for Change, and independent candidates backed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Ghad did not join the coalition.


• In February 2010, presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei established the National Association for Change. The organization has not been deemed a legitimate political party, but nevertheless aims to form a coalition to support ElBaradei in the 2011 presidential elections. It has gained support from independent members of the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Ghad Party, the Democratic Front Party, Al-Karama, and al-Wasat Party. In March 2010, the Association released a petition calling for an end to the state of emergency imposed by the current regime, among other demands. Recent constitutional amendments may ban ElBaradei from running in the 2011 presidential elections, but analysts assert that President Mubarak is nevertheless concerned about ElBaradei's increasing popularity.

Legal Opposition Parties

• The Socialist Labor Party (Hizb al-Amal al-Ishtiraki): Islamist; founded in 1978 but banned from operating or publishing its newspaper al-Shaab since 2000.
• The Umma Party: Established in 1983; advocates for a socialist democracy.
• The Egyptian Arab Socialist Party (Hizb Misr al-Arabi al-Ishtiraki): Founded in 1976; seeks to maintain workers' gains made during the 1952 Revolution.
• The Green Party (Hizb el-khodr): Founded in 1990; calls for protecting the environment and addressing issues of underdevelopment and poverty.
• Social Solidarity Party (Al-Takaful): Founded in 1995; calls for social justice and Egyptian solidarity.
• The Democratic Unionist Party (Hizb al-Ittihadi al-Demoqrati): Founded in 1990; aims to create a unified Egypt and Sudan and advocates the separation of religion and state.
• The Social Justice Party: Founded in 1993.
• The National Conciliation Party (Hizb al-Wifaq al-Watani): Founded in 2000; advocates establishing a parliamentary republic and removing all Islamic provisions from the law.
• The Democratic Generation Party (Hizb al-Geel al-Demoqrati): Established in 2002.
• The Free Social Constitution Party (Hizb al-Dostouri al-Igtimai al-Hur): Founded in 2004; supports constitutional amendments to limit the number of presidential terms and the president’s powers; calls for the establishment of a national bank for the poor.
• The Democratic Peace Party (Hizb al-Salam al-Demoqrati): Founded in 2005; aims to address the problem of unemployment.
• The Egypt Youth Party: Founded in 2005; works to gain youth a more active role in political life.
• The Conservatives Party (al-Hizb al-Mohafiz): Established in 2006.
• The Free Republican Party (al-Hizb al-Gomhory al-Ahrar): Founded in 2006 as a liberal democratic party.
• The Democratic Front Party (al-Hizb al-Gabha al-Demoqratia): Established in 2007 after obtaining 1,700 supporting signatures; endorses a liberal and secular agenda.

Parties Seeking Licensing

• Two active parties–the Islamist “Centrist Party” and the Nasserist “Karama Party”–have sought permits but remain unlicensed.
• The New Centrist Party (Hizb al-Wasat al-Jadid) was formed in 1996 and claims to represent a moderate stream of political Islam. It defines its reference to Islam in terms of the Islamic civilization rather than the Islamic faith, and thus breaks with the Muslim Brotherhood on this key point. The party is led by former Muslim Brotherhood member Abul Ela Madi, and a number of its members are former Muslim Brothers. Al-Wasat has been denied licensing by the Political Parties Affairs Committee (PPAC) four times since 1996. Although the PPAC has offered no reason for its decision, government officials have voiced concerns that the party is a front for the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
• The Dignity Party (Hizb al-Karama) was founded in 1996 by a former member of the Arab Democratic Nasserist Party. After rejecting the autocratic leadership of his former party, Hamdeen Sabah established al-Karama to espouse socialist ideals and democratic processes within government. Al-Karama has criticized the current regime for oppressing political diversity. Its application for licensing has been rejected twice by the PPAC–once in 2002 on the grounds that it was not different enough from other parties, and again in 2004 for allegedly advocating a radical ideology.
• The Liberal Egyptian Party (al-Hizb al-Masri al-Liberali) was established in 2006 to advocate for Egyptian nationalism and the secularization of governmental processes. The PPAC rejected the party’s application for legal status in 2004 and again in 2006.

Unlicensed Islamist Movements

• The Muslim Brotherhood Movement was established in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna. The group aims to establish a state based on the principles of the Islamic Shari’a, and to gradually Islamize Egyptian public life. Despite a constitutional ban on religiouslybased parties, the Muslim Brotherhood still constitutes the most significant political opposition in Egypt. Although banned in the 2005 People’s Assembly elections, Muslim Brotherhood members running as independents won 88 of the 444 seats up for election that year.
  

  The Muslim Brotherhood is tolerated by the state but formally remains illegal, enjoying neither the status of a legal political party nor that of a legal association. It is allowed to pursue its activities as a social movement combining religious, charitable, educational, and publishing activities with a substantial political presence. However, at frequent intervals the state cracks down on the brotherhood and incarcerates a number of its members. The standard charge is “attempting to reorganize a banned movement.”

  The movement is currently led by Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie. It calls for free and fair elections; the amendment of laws relating to political parties and professional syndicates; the right to demonstrate, hold meetings, and publish newspapers; and, above all, lifting the Emergency Law in force since 1981. Recently added to this list is a proposal for radical constitutional change to transform the state into a parliamentary republic.

  Several 2005 amendments to the Egyptian constitution were aimed at curbing the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in politics. Article 5 prohibits the creation of any political party or political activity which relies on a “religious frame of reference.” This stipulation maintains the prior ban on the Muslim Brotherhood as a political party, and makes illegal any political activities organized by the group. Additionally, Article 62 limits the percentage of parliamentary members who may be elected from individual districts rather than political party lists. A 1990 electoral change had transformed parliamentary elections to an individual districts system, which allowed Muslim Brotherhood members to run for parliament as independents (since they could not run as members of a banned organization). The new change restricts this right by shrinking the number of members who can run as independents to around 10 percent.

• The Islamic Group (Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya) is another Islamist group that has been banned by the current regime. From 1992 to late 1997, this group was the main organization engaged in violent insurgency in Egypt. In March 1999, the group formally proclaimed a cease-fire, which it has since upheld. Recently, the group has been engaged in a process of collective self-criticism. It has renounced the use of violence; declared that “commanding what is proper and prohibiting what is reprehensible” should be left to the legal authorities; and abandoned its opposition to the democratic process. Click here for more.

Election Results

Results for the parliamentary elections held on November 28 and December 5, 2010:

Party	Seats won
National Democratic Party	420
Independents	69
New Wafd Party	6
Tagammu	5
Al-Geel	1
Democratic Peace Party	1
Al-Ghad Party	1
Social Justice Party	1

Voter turnout for the first round was approximately 20 percent.

Voter turnout for the second round was approximately 10 percent .

The results left the NDP with 87 percent of seats.

The Higher Electoral Commission invalidated four races, reducing the number of seats from 508 to 504 with 62 quota seats reserved for women.

The Muslim Brotherhood and New Wafd party both boycotted the elections after a weak performance in the first round of voting. Click here for full coverage of the elections.

Criticism of rigged elections was widespread.The extensive and organized abuses documented in reports by local observers and some judges suggest that the elections do not reflect the choices of voters.

Security forces manipulated the results in favor of NDP candidates, obstructing some judges from effectively overseeing the vote, blocking many observers from entering polling places, preventing others from remaining at the sites long enough to objectively evaluate the elections, and stopping supporters of some opposition candidates from voting. For a detailed analysis click here.

The next parliamentary elections are set to take place in 2015.

Results for the first presidential elections held on September 7, 2005:

Name of Candidate	Party	% of popular vote
President Hosni Mubarak	National Democratic Party	88.6
Ayman Nour	al-Ghad Party	7.3
Noman Goma’a	al-Wafd Party	2.8

• Voter urnout was 23 percent of 32 million registered voters.


• Opposition candidates and civil society organizations challenged the legitimacy of the vote, citing limited access to the polls by election monitors and extensive problems with voter lists. The Presidential Election Commission initially barred election monitors organized by civil society organizations from entering polling stations, and won an appeal against an initial court ruling in the monitors’ favor. Although the commission eventually relented, most monitors were unable to gain the required permissions in time for the elections and thus did not gain access to polling stations.


• A preliminary report by the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring (organized by the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies) declared that election administration authorities failed to install necessary legal provisions to ensure the independence of the electoral process. In its evaluation of the elections, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) requested that the judiciary enjoy full electoral oversight in future elections and recommended the creating of an independent commission to discuss constitutional reforms.


• The next presidential elections are scheduled for fall 2011.


• A set of 2007 constitutional amendments requires that presidential candidates be nominated by a political party which has been registered for at least five years prior to the election. Furthermore, the candidate must have been among the group’s leaders for at least one year. Thus, presidential hopeful Mohammed ElBaradei will not be permitted to run for the presidency in 2011, although he has gained a large support base in Egypt. Many Egyptians praise ElBaradei’s outspoken criticism of the current political system and of the Mubarak regime. ElBaradei previously served as the chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. While he is barred from running in the 2011 elections, analysts cite President Mubarak’s concerns about ElBaradei’s popularity in Egypt.

Results of elections for the People’s Assembly in November/December 2005:

Party	Seats won
National Democratic Party	311
Muslim Brotherhood independents	88
Unaffiliated independents	22
Wafd Party	6
Tagammu Party	2
Karama Party independents	2
Al-Ghad Party	1
Undecided	12
Appointed members	10

• According to the electoral commission, 26 percent of eligible voters participated in the elections. The elections were held in three rounds. Two candidates (one of whom had to be a worker or farmer) were elected in each district, and the results were based on a winner-takes-all system.


• Members of the Muslim Brotherhood–running as independents because their own party was banned by the regime–won 20 percent of the seats in the election. Their victory was staggering, as the four most popular legal opposition parties–the Wafd, Ghad, Tagammu, and Arab Nasserite parties–won only a combined total of 5 percent of the seats. In response, President Mubarak and his National Democratic Party (NDP) began offering incentives to leftist political parties to prevent an Islamist-liberal alliance in parliament.


• Election monitors organized by civil society groups reported numerous violations, particularly in the second and third rounds. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) complained of NDP-organized violence to discourage opposition voters and criticized the Egyptian authorities for closing off many polling stations.


• An earlier joint statement by the National Campaign for Monitoring Elections, the Shadow Committee for Monitoring Elections, and the Civil Society Election Monitoring Observatory reported incidents of voter-coercion and vote-buying. Media watchdog groups such as Reporters without Borders voiced alarm at reports that security forces had carried out attacks on journalists covering the elections.


• Procedures for the elections differed in several respects from those in place during the 2000 elections. First, they were overseen by the Higher Commission for Parliamentary Elections, although this body was headed by the minister of Justice and thus not independent. Second, the commission agreed to allow Egyptian monitors trained and organized by non-governmental organizations to observe the process inside and outside of polling places. Third, the commission approved the use of transparent ballot boxes to decrease the likelihood of fraud.


• In addition to the elected members of the Assembly, President Mubarak appointed ten members, including five Christians and five women.
  Click here for commentary on the upcoming People’s Assembly elections in October 2010.

Results of local elections on April 8, 2008:

• Elections for local council seats were held in April 2008, although they were originally scheduled for April 2006. Fifty-two thousand seats were filled in the election, and the ruling NDP won over 95 percent of the seats.


• The Muslim Brotherhood announced a last-minute boycott of the elections after nearly all of its candidates—as well as most candidates from legal opposition parties—were prevented from registering.


• Independent civil society monitors were denied permission to observe elections, but informal reports suggest voter turnout was extremely low (reportedly as low as 5 percent).


• The local government consists of 26 governorates headed by a governor and an executive council appointed by the president. For administrative purposes, there are 126 districts, 4,496 village municipalities, and 199 town municipalities. Municipal elections occur every four years for people’s councils at both the governorate and district levels, but these bodies have very limited power in relation to the executive councils.


• Prior to the 2008 elections, Egypt’s parliament had approved a presidential proposal to delay municipal elections for two years. Although the mandate of Egypt’s municipal officials was due to expire on April 16, 2006, it was extended until 2008. According to NDP Secretary General and Shura Council Speaker Safwat al-Sherif, the postponement was necessary to draft a new law intended to give more power to the municipalities. However, the delay was widely seen in Egypt as an attempt by the NDP to regroup after the Muslim Brotherhood won 88 of 454 seats in the November 2005 parliamentary elections.

Results of elections for the Shura Council on June 1 and 8, 2010:

• In the June 2010 elections, 446 candidates competed for 88 seats (half of the elected seats in the council) in 67 districts. Voters cast one or two ballots each, depending on the size of their district. The ruling NDP dominated the election, winning 80 of the 88 (or 95 percent) of the seats.


• Five opposition parties – Tagammu, al-Geel, al-Ghad, the Wafd Party, and the Nasserists – gained one seat each in the elections. Independents won three seats.


• Competing in Shura elections for the second time, the Muslim Brotherhood presented fifteen candidates but did not win any seats. Muslim Brotherhood candidates were forced to run as independents as the group is not considered a legitimate political party and is thus barred from running in elections.


• Domestic election observers stated that in many provinces, polling station officials permitted only NDP supporters inside the polling stations, prevented opposition supporters from casting ballots, and prohibited election monitors from entering the stations. The Higher Election Commission was widely accused of favoring the ruling NDP party and of facilitating election-rigging.


• The other 44 members of the Shura Council were appointed by President Mubarak from among the members of the NDP Policies Committee. The Committee is headed by Mubarak’s son Gamal Mubarak. Opposition groups have accused the president’s appointees of being puppets of the regime, and of “[having] no role to play beyond rubber-stamping laws and decrees.”


• The next elections for the Shura Council will be held in 2013.

Recent Changes to the Electoral System:

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood – running as independents as their own party was banned by the regime – won 20 percent of the seats in the 2005 People’s Assembly elections. Their victory was staggering, as the four most popular legal opposition parties – the Wafd, Ghad, Tagammu, and Arab Nasserite parties – won only a combined total of 5 percent of the seats. In response, President Mubarak and his National Democratic Party (NDP) began offering incentives to leftist political parties to prevent an Islamist-liberal alliance in parliament. In 2005 and again in 2007, constitutional amendments were passed that restricted members of the Muslim Brotherhood from participating in future elections.

The amendments prohibit the formation of any political party or political activity that relies on a “religious frame of reference.” Additionally, they limit the percentage of parliamentary members who may be elected from individual districts rather than political party lists. This stipulation is significant as only 5 percent of Egyptian voters associate themselves with a particular political party; the vast majority vote for independents. A 1990 electoral change had transformed parliamentary elections to an individual districts system, which allowed Muslim Brotherhood members to run for parliament as independents (since they could not run as members of a banned organization). The new change restricts this right by shrinking the number of members who can run as individuals in parliament to around 10 percent.

Civil Society and Nongovernmental Actors

The number of registered associations was estimated as of 2003 at 16,000. These include business associations, professional groups, advocacy organizations, clubs, youth centers, and political parties, in addition to NGOs.

NGOs in Egypt are governed by Law 84 of 2002. The law states that any organization must apply for licensing with the Ministry of Social Affairs, and that refusal to comply carries a jail sentence of up to six months. Non-governmental organizations, particularly human rights groups, are often refused legal registration, and those that are allowed to operate have little protection against arbitrary government closures. Click here for a human rights watch report regarding Law 84 of 2002.

In April 2010, a draft law was proposed to further restrict the freedoms of NGOs and civil society organizations. The law would create a government-run General Federation for Civil Society Organizations that would be charged with authorizing the activities of local NGOs. It would also expand governmental powers to dissolve NGOs and would give the government the ability to influence their internal elections. Civil society groups have voiced their opposition to the new law, and 41 prominent NGOs have signed a petition condemning it. Some obervers believe that the move is designed to allow the government to hinder the operations of election-monitoring NGOs during the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

A group of Egyptian intellectuals have formed a “National Assembly for Democratic Transformation” (al-Tagammu al-Watani lil Tahawwul al-Demoqrati) that aims to foster debate about a new constitution. According to the group's mission statement released on June 4, 2005, a “coordination committee” composed of prominent Egyptian figures will be formed first to consult with all political forces. The group, led by octogenarian former Prime Minister Aziz Sidqi, includes members such as prominent Islamist intellectuals Tareq al-Bishri and Muhammad Salim al-Awwa, former deputy foreign minister Abdullah al-Ashal, and newspaper editor Mustafa al-Bakri as spokesman.

Unions and Professional Syndicates

• General Union of Egyptian Workers
• General Union for Press, Printing and Publications
• Information Press Union
• Syndicate of Egyptian Engineers
• Syndicate of Egyptian Medical Professionals
• Union of Egyptian Publishers

The formation and activities of labor unions are heavily restricted.

Umbrella organizations:

• The Federation of Chambers of Commerce
• The Federation of Egyptian Industries
• The Egyptian Trade Union Federation

The Popular Campaign for Change (also known as Kefaya, or "Enough") is an umbrella group of human rights and civil society organizations, which began staging public protests in December 2004 against a fifth term for President Mubarak. Several Kefaya supporters were arrested during the demonstrations.

On April 6, 2008, riots erupted after textile factory workers went on strike in the Delta town of Mahalla. The strikers were protesting low wages, rising food costs, and increased unemployment due to the privatization of Egyptian factories. These protests led to a new group that calls itself the April 6 Movement and seeks to oppose NDP social and labor policies. This opposition group is still active in Egypt today.

Civil and Political Rights

Personal Liberties

• The constitution guarantees all citizens freedom of worship (Article 46), freedom of opinion and expression in all its forms “within the limits of the law” (Article 47), and the right to “peaceful and unarmed private assembly” (Article 54). However, the continuous state of emergency imposed by the Mubarak regime since 1981 severely restricts these and other rights guaranteed by the constitution. Under the Emergency Law (Arabic text), authorities may conduct searches without a warrant, make arrests without charge, and deny suspects access to their families for prolonged periods. Suspects may be detained for six months without a trial, and may then be tried in harsh State Security courts. Torture and inadequate food and medical care are pervasive for those in custody.


• Families of suspected terrorists or opposition figures are sometimes detained so as to pressure the suspects themselves to surrender. Arrests are often arbitrary, and suspects are denied access to counsel. Click here for a 2005 Human Rights Watch report on mass arbitrary arrests and subsequent torture that took place in Sinai after a car bomb exploded in the region.


• In May 2010, the Egyptian parliament voted to extend the Emergency Law for two more years, claiming it would only be used in cases of terrorism and drug trafficking. The announcement came after a 2005 promise by President Mubarak to draft specific antiterrorism legislation that would make the Emergency Law unnecessary. Many Egyptians are skeptical that the Emergency Law will be revoked, or that anti-terrorism legislation will be any different from the current Emergency Law. Thus far, “terrorism” has been broadly defined and often includes opposition figures seen as political threats to the regime. The extension of the Emergency Law triggered demonstrations around the country. Seventy people were arrested in conjunction with these protests.


• Protesters again took to the streets in June 2010, this time to demonstrate against police brutality after the death of Khaled Said, a 28-year-old businessman from Alexandria. The police claimed that Said had died after swallowing a packet of drugs and choking to death, but a picture circulating on the Internet shows his teeth broken and blood pouring from his head. Protestors claim that his death is an example of routine beatings and torture by the authorities in Egypt, which will only continue as long as the Emergency Law is in place. Many of the protestors were arrested during the rallies.


• In recent years, the state has occasionally cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood for criticizing the state and “attempting to reorganize a banned organization.” Homes of Muslim Brothers are regularly raided by the authorities. Members of all organizations, and particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, are warned to limit their criticism of the regime so as not to inspire “disrespect for the state.”


• Although the constitution guarantees freedom of opinion and freedom of the press, a stipulation in Article 48 declares that in a state of emergency, limited censorship may be imposed on newspapers, publications, and mass media. This provision has been used to ban publications, block websites, and arrest individuals for their online activities. Click here for a 2005 Human Rights Watch report on Egypt’s press restrictions.


• The constitution provides for equality of the sexes, but women face some economic and social discrimination. While men may marry non-Muslim women, women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslim men. Those who disobey this law can be arrested for apostasy, and any children resulting from the marriage may be handed over to a Muslim guardian. Women may initiate divorce, but if they do so they must forfeit their dowry and any other financial benefits from their husbands. Muslim women receive half the inheritance given to Muslim men. A woman’s testimony is equal in court to that of a man except in matters of personal status, in which case two female witnesses are equivalent to one male witness.


• The government does not recognize marriages between adherents of faiths other than Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. It also does not recognize conversions of Muslim-born citizens to other religions. State laws also make it difficult to build or renovate non-Muslim places of worship. Non-Muslim citizens face some discrimination in obtaining public sector work. Click here for a 2009 U.S. State Department Report on religious freedom in Egypt.


• In January 2010, a group of Copts protested against the government’s inability to protect them from Muslim attackers who killed several Copts on the eve of their Christmas celebration. A 2009 U.S. State Department report by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor states that the regime sponsored “reconciliation sessions” in lieu of prosecuting the perpetrators of such crimes. According to the report, this practice added to the general culture of impunity and encouraged further attacks on Copts.


• Click here for the 2009 State Deparment Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor report on human rights in Egypt.

Legislation Regulating the Exercise of Rights

Emergency Law

• President Mubarak has maintained a state of emergency in Egypt since Anwar Sadat’s assassination by Muslim militants in 1981. The Emergency Law is laid out in Law 162 of 1958 (Arabic text). This law allows the state to detain suspects accused of disrupting public order without charge for extended periods of time, to prohibit rights of movement and assembly, to monitor personal communications, and to try civilians in military or security courts. The law also allows police to search homes without warrants and to confiscate publications at whim.


• Under Article 3B of the Emergency Law (Arabic text), those detained as a result of the law will be sentenced to hard labor and fined 40,000 Egyptian pounds. They will be brought to trial after six months, and may not petition to be released until then.


• In 2005, President Mubarak promised to replace the wide-ranging Emergency Law with a more narrowly defined Anti-Terrorism law. The next year, Mubarak convinced the parliament to extend the state of emergency for two more years, citing the need to maintain the Emergency law until the Constitution could be amended to embrace a new Anti-Terrorism law.


• A new Anti-Terrorism clause was included within the 2007 constitutional amendments; however, the state of emergency was extended for two more years in 2010.

Political Party Laws

• Law 177 of 2005 (English text, Arabic text) regulates political parties.


• The Political Parties Law of 1977 (Law 40/1977) prohibits political parties based on religious identity. Additionally, Article 5 of the new constitutional amendments prohibits the creation of any political party or activity that relies on a “religious frame of reference.” This stipulation not only bans the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups from registering as political parties, but also allows authorities to shut down and detain participants of any activity or civil society organization they deem to be political and religiously-inspired – both vague terms that are left to the discretion of local authorities. Click here for more on the implications of this amendment.


• The Political Parties Affairs Committee (PPAC), created in 1976, manages the registration of new political parties. The six-member PPAC is affiliated with the Consultative Council (Maglis al-Shura) in parliament.


• The PPAC has approved only three new parties since its establishment. Other political parties have been licensed by the Political Parties Court after they were rejected by the PPAC.


• The People’s Assembly passed a series of controversial amendments to the Political Parties Law on July 4, 2005. These amendments reshaped the PPAC, which is headed by the Chairman of the Shura Council (currently NDP Secretary General Safwat al-Sherif). It also includes the ministers of Interior and People's Assembly Affairs as well as three former judges and three independent public figures. Opposition critics have called for dismantling the committee or balancing NDP and opposition membership.


• The 2005 changes made it easier for new parties to be established – although they were somewhat negated by restrictions on political parties imposed by the 2007 constitutional amendments. One 2005 provision stipulates that parties are to be considered automatically licensed if the committee does not object within 90 days of the party’s notification of formation. However, the new amendments also preserve the committee’s ability to block any new party that is not deemed different enough from other political parties.

Electoral Law

Presidential Elections:

• According to the Egyptian Constitution, the president of Egypt is elected to a six-year term, but may be re-elected an indefinite number of times.


• Article 76 of a set of 2007 constitutional amendments limits the political activities of unregistered political groups by declaring that presidential candidates may only be nominated by registered political parties holding at least one seat in the People’s Assembly or the Shura Council, or at least 3 percent of the parliament. A political group must have been registered for at least five years prior to the election to nominate a presidential candidate. Nevertheless, this amendment replaced a more severe 2005 restriction that stated a party must hold at least 5 percent of the parliament to nominate a candidate for the presidency.


• To prevent against a legitimate political party suddenly nominating a member of an unlicensed group (such as the Muslim Brotherhood) as its candidate, Article 76 also requires that the candidate must have been a member of the party’s political leadership for at least one year prior to his nomination.


• Click here for a textual analysis of the 2007 amendments and how they alter Law 174 of 2005 (English text, Arabic text), which outlines the electoral system in Egypt.

Parliamentary Elections:

• In 2005, the People’s Assembly passed a series of controversial amendments to the Political Participation Law (amending Law 73 of 1956) that affect parliamentary elections. The changes create an electoral commission to oversee elections for both houses of parliament. The eleven-member commission will be headed by the minister of Justice and will include a representative from the Ministry of Interior, three senior judges, and six independent members to be selected by the two houses of parliament. Critics have asserted that the commission is dominated by National Democratic Party (NDP) members who have been responsible for electoral irregularities in the past.


• Article 62 of a set of 2007 constitutional amendments limits the percentage of parliamentary members who may be elected from individual districts rather than political party lists. A 1990 electoral change had transformed parliamentary elections to an individual districts system, which allowed members of un-licensed opposition groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood to run for parliament as independents. Article 62 restricts this right by shrinking the number of individual districts to around 10 percent of the parliament.


• The People’s Assembly includes 518 members, 508 of whom are elected. Sixty-four of the elected seats are reserved for women. Two seats are attached to each electoral district. Electors are given two votes. At least one seat in each district is reserved for a farmer or a worker. If no candidate attains a majority in the first round of voting, a second round is held one week later in which the four top candidates are voted upon again. If a worker or a farmer is not included among the top two winners, then one seat is given to the winner, and another election is held a week later among the top workers and farmers to fill the second position in the district.


• Candidates must gain 51 percent of the vote to gain a seat in the People’s Assembly or the Shura Council. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, a run-off election is organized between the top candidates.


• Since 2005, elections have been held in three rounds so as to allow for judicial supervision at each polling and counting station.


• See Articles 86 through 136 of the Egyptian Constitution for other electoral stipulations relating to the People’s Assembly. Law 174 of 2005 (English text, Arabic text) outlines the electoral system for the People’s Assembly.


• Elections for the Shura Council are held once every three years. Half of the council is replaced in each cycle.


• See Articles 194 through 205 of the Egyptian Constitution for electoral stipulations relating specifically to the Consultative Council, also known as the Shura Council. Law 176 of 2005 outlines the electoral system for the council. Click here for detailed electoral guidelines for Egypt’s Shura Council elections.

Law on Associations

• According to the constitution, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt must serve the public interest, be formally registered, have internal regulations, and have a non-religious mission.


• On June 3, 2003 the People's Assembly approved a new law governing civic associations, Law 84 of 2002 (English Text, Arabic text), to replace Law 32 of 1964. The new law bans associations from taking part in political or union activities, and prohibits them from engaging in political activities unless they are registered as political parties. Furthermore, it prohibits the receipt of foreign funding without explicit government approval. Additionally, after the law was passed, all of Egypt’s 16,000 civil society organizations were required to re-register with the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the applications of some long- established human rights organizations were rejected.


• In April 2010, a draft law was proposed to further restrict the freedoms of NGOs and civil society organizations. The law would create a government-run General Federation for Civil Society Organizations, which would be charged with authorizing the activities of local NGOs. It would also expand government powers to dissolve NGOs and allow the government the ability to influence their internal elections. Additionally, the law closes legal loopholes that had previously allowed human rights groups to avoid NGO restrictions by registering as law firms or civil companies. Civil society groups have voiced their opposition to the new law, and 41 prominent NGOs have signed a petition condemning it.

Media Laws

• The constitution guarantees freedom of the press, printing, and publication. Censorship is prohibited under normal conditions (Article 48). However, in a state of emergency or in time of war, a limited censorship may be imposed (Article 49). Thus, freedom of the press has been severely restricted since the state of emergency was declared in 1981.


• Press freedom is heavily restricted by vaguely worded provisions in the Press Law (Arabic text), the Publications Law, the Penal Code (English text, Arabic text), and libel laws.


• A Supreme Press Council was created in 1980 to safeguard the freedom of the press, check government censorship, and look after the interests of journalists. Provisions regarding this council may be found in Articles 67 through 79 of the new press law (click here to view this section in Arabic). Yet despite the existence of this council, censorship of journalists' work and restrictions of their rights persist.


• The law criminalizes libel as well as statements that insult or disrespect the state. Those accused of libel may be imprisoned. The Penal Code provides for fines and imprisonment for journalists who criticize the president, members of government, and foreign heads of state. Direct criticism of the president, his family, or the military can result in the closure of publications. Discussion of tensions between Muslims and Christians in Egypt and views regarded as anti-Islamic are also heavily proscribed. Such provisions have encouraged self-censorship.


• Most of the press is state-owned. Even opposition press often depend on advertising revenue from public-sector companies. However, Internet blogging has been used as a political tool by the opposition and is independent, although the government has attempted to shut down or ban sites that it deems too critical of the state.


• On July 4, 2005, the People’s Assembly passed a series of controversial amendments to the Political Participation Law (amending Law 73 of 1956). These included new penalties on journalists for publishing false information with the intent to affect election results.


• Another set of amendments was published on July 10, 2006, this time altering the 1996 Press and Publications Law. Contrary to expectations, these amendments did not abolish prison sentences for journalists. They retained punishment for criticizing public officials, mandating jail terms between six months and five years or a fine of 5,000-20,000 Egyptian pounds (US $870-$3,480).


• To the relief of human rights groups, the parliament ultimately removed a clause that would have made “defaming public figures with allegations of corruption” punishable by up to three years in prison.


• According to the 2009 Worldwide Press Freedom Index by Reporters without Borders, Egypt ranks 143 of 175 countries. The index runs from 1 (most press freedom) to 175 (least press freedom).

Personal Status Law

• The Personal Status law is laid out in Law No. 1 of 2000 (Arabic text), as amended by Law No. 91 of 2000 (Arabic text). This law dictates on matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, and other familial or personal matters. It is based on Islamic (Shari’a) law, and bears a similarity to the personal status laws of other Muslim-majority countries.


• Personal Status law does not give men and women equal rights. For example, a woman’s testimony is equal to that of a man in civil court, but not in matters of personal status. In the latter case, two female witnesses are equivalent to one male witness. Furthermore, the law bars women from marrying non-Muslim men, and any children born from such a marriage may be given to a Muslim guardian by the courts. In regards to inheritance, Muslim female heirs receive half the amount given to their male counterparts, and Christian heirs of Muslims receive none of the inheritance.


• In January 2002, the parliament revised the Personal Status law to provide women with the opportunity to divorce their husbands without proving mistreatment. In such cases, the woman must give back the dowry given by the husband and exempt him from any financial obligations.


• In the fall of 2002, the courts abolished statutes that prohibited women from obtaining passports or traveling without permission from their fathers or husbands.


• The law states that all personal status cases should be referred to a Family Dispute Resolution office for mediation. If a settlement cannot be reached, the case is sent to the courts. Family courts were established in 2004 to hear family disputes, which include issues of marriage, divorce, alimony, and custody. The addition of these specialized courts was meant to bring relief to the over-burdened Egyptian judicial system.

Labor Law

• The Egyptian Labor law is laid out in Law No. 12 of 2003 (English text, Arabic text).


• The 2003 Labor law grants Egyptian workers the right to strike for the first time. According to this decision, striking is permitted in most factories and firms if the action is approved by two-thirds of the general union’s executive committee. Strikes may only occur following failed negotiations with the employer. Strike statements must mention the cause of a strike and its duration.


• The minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kamal al-Shazli, declared that the government has agreed to consider the strike period as unpaid leave for the workers in order to protect them from arbitrary and unfair decisions by employers.


• Since the 2003 law passed, Egypt has seen large-scale strikes. Factory workers complain they do not earn enough money and face poor working conditions. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian workers participated in sit-in demonstrations in 2008 and 2009, demanding that their wages be raised to reflect the cost of living in modern-day Cairo. The current minimum wage was set by the government in the mid-1980s.


• In May 2010, Minister of Economic Development Othman Mohamed Othman proposed raising the minimum wage from LE35 to LE280. Labor leaders and activists rejected the proposal, arguing that an appropriate minimum wage would be between LE1200 and LE2700, and accused the minister of manipulating inflation rates.

Recent Government Initiatives Affecting Rights

• Despite President Mubarak’s promises to replace the far-reaching Emergency law with a more narrowly defined Anti-Terrorism law, 2010 witnessed the extension of the former for two more years. The Emergency law allows the state to detain suspects accused of disrupting public order without charge for extended periods of time, to prohibit rights of movement and assembly, to monitor personal communications, and to try civilians in military court. The law also allows police to search homes without warrants and to confiscate publications at whim.


• In 2007, a set of 34 constitutional amendments was passed. Several of the amendments have raised concerns that constitutional protections have been removed from the document, and that the new law will allow for an increased number of human rights violations. One of the new provisions, laid out in Article 179, allows the president to refer suspects charged with terrorism to any court in Egypt. In other words, the president may, at whim, send such suspects to military courts, which dole out harsher punishments than the regular court system.


• Human rights groups have voiced concerns that these new provisions allow for constitutionally sanctioned human rights abuses. Amnesty International calls these amendments “the greatest erosion of human rights in 26 years” – that is, since the Mubarak regime enforced a state of emergency in 1981, which has yet to be revoked.


• In recent years, the ruling NDP’s policy secretariat, headed by President Mubarak’s son Gamal, has proposed a package of reforms designed to reinvigorate the NDP’s domestic image and to respond to international criticism of Egypt’s human rights abroad. Reforms reportedly under consideration include introducing a proportional representation electoral system, ending criminal penalties for violations of the press law, and giving the Shura Council (the advisory upper house of Parliament) full legislative powers. A proposal to allow opposition party representatives to join the NDP-controlled political parties committee, which oversees party registration, may also be debated, along with changes to the laws governing professional associations and civil society organizations.


• Egypt was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, the highest UN human rights body, on May 17, 2007. A briefing paper (English text, Arabic text) by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and Human Rights Watch argues that Egypt's “terrible human rights record made that country a poor choice for membership” but “welcomed the Egyptian government's public pledge to improve its practices domestically and to strengthen the capacity of the council.”


• A new law was proposed in 2010 to toughen punishments for sexual harassment in Egypt. Sexual harassment is endemic in Egyptian society, and women complain that there are no legal provisions to discourage the practice. In 2006, authorities were accused of permitting the practice after an incident in which a group of men attacked a group of women during an Eid al-Fitr celebration. The assault was caught on tape, but the authorities did not punish the attackers. Rather, they accused those who published the videos on the Internet of defamation. Nevertheless, recent events have demonstrated that the government is willing to face the issue. In 2008, an Egyptian court heard the first ever sexual harassment case, and doled out a three-year prison sentence to the perpetrator.


• A 2006 decision by the Supreme Judicial Council allows women to serve as judges in Egyptian courts. The following year, thirty female judges were sworn in. However, in early 2010 women were still not permitted to serve on the State Council, the highest administrative court in Egypt. In March 2010, Egypt’s Constitutional Court overturned a vote by the general assembly of the State Council that barred women from serving as judges on the council. The Constitutional Court stated that the matter should be decided not by the general assembly of the council but by its Administrative Committee. On July 12, the committee ruled to indefinitely postpone the appointment of female judges to the State Council.

Ratification of International Conventions

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) signed on August 4, 1967 and ratified on January 14, 1982
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) signed on August 4, 1967 and ratified on January 14, 1982
• The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), June 25, 1986
• The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) signed on September 28, 1966 and ratified on May 1, 1967
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) signed on July 16, 1980 and ratified on September 18, 1981, with reservations for provisions that do not accord with Islamic law. Click here for more.
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) signed on February 5, 1990 and ratified on July 6, 1990