Egyptian parliamentary election, 2011
Encyclopedia
An early parliamentary election is currently being held in Egypt
from November 2011 onwards, following the revolution which ousted
President Hosni Mubarak
, after which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
dissolved the parliament of Egypt
. Originally, the election was assumed to be held in September, but this was postponed following protests that the early elections would benefit established parties.
a parliamentary election was held, though it was followed by controversy and repression as well as accusations of fraud.
Following similar events in Tunisia, Egyptian activists called for protesters to turn up in cities around Egypt on various specially-designated days of rages. Though violence was reported at some points, protests were largely peaceful with the army staying quiet until 10 February with calls for Mubarak to resign. The following day, Vice President Omar Suleiman
announced Mubarak's resignation from the presidency while turning power over to the military. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi would lead the country for a transitional period until a civilian government takes over.
A constitutional referendum
was then approved on 19 March that would ease the process to become president.
. The National Democratic Party was however dissolved in April.
The draft law for the electoral system to be used was revealed on 30 May 2011; controversially, it retained first-past-the-post voting for two thirds of the seats, with only one third of the seats elected by proportional representation
.
On 7 July 2011, the caretaker government approved the new electoral law. It foresees a 50–50 division between proportional seats and FPTP seats; the minimum age limit for candidates is also to be reduced from 30 to 25.
On 21 July 2011, the SCAF announced:
In late September 2011, it was announced that only one third of the seats would be elected by plurality vote. However, these directly elected MPs could only be independents and not members of political parties; this restriction led to threats of boycotting the election by a wide swath of the political parties which intended to contest the election. The parties stated that their demands for a change in the electoral law would have to be met by 2 October, else they would boycott the election. After a meeting with political party leaders on 1 October 2011, the SCAF agreed to allow party members to run for the directly elected seats, set a clearer timetable for the transition to civilian rule and possibly abolish military trials for civilians.
On 11 November 2011, an administrative court in Mansoura ruled that former NDP members were not allowed to stand in the election as independent candidates. It was not immediately known whether this ruling would eventually apply to the whole country. On 14 November 2011, the Higher Administrative Court in Cairo overruled the decision and allowed the former NDP members to stand.
will take place on the following dates:
There are a total 508 seats: 498 seats are elected, and 10 seats appointed, in this case, by the Military Council
, and usually by the President.
Out of those 498 seats, two-thirds, meaning 332, shall be elected from the parties or coalition-lists proportional to the party's showing in 46 districts.
The remaining 166 seats are open to candidates running as individuals, who may or may not be affiliated with political parties, numbering two per each of the 83 districs. Out of these, the new parliament must have half "professionals", while the other half need to be "workers" or "farmers". If the winner of one of the two seats is allocated to a "professional", the second seat in the district shall be handed to a "worker" or a "farmer". Run-offs are assigned to the individual candidates who did not receive over 50% of the votes in the first round .
Additional requirements for parties include listing at least one woman and adopting a specific visual symbol, as an alternative detection to help the illiterate voters. . The same voting procedures shall apply to the upper house's election, too
The election for the upper house
, the Shura Council ("the Consultative Council") are to follow on 22 January 2012, and will take place in 3 stages as well between between 29 January and 11 March. Out of a total 270 seats: 180 seats are up for grabs and 90 seats shall be appointed after the presidential election, by the president-elect. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/28/us-egypt-election-system-idUSTRE7AR0VE20111128. Following these elections, the parliament shall select a committee that will draft a new constitution for Egypt. The new constitution shall than be submitted to a referendum. Only then will presidential election be held, "no later than 30 June 2012" according to Hussein Tantawi's statement.
announced on 15 February it would form the Freedom and Justice Party
to run in the election. The Al-Wasat Party
, a moderate Islamic faction of the Muslim Brotherhood, was officially approved as a party on 19 February, fifteen years after its foundation.
The Freedom and Justice Party and the liberal New Wafd Party
announced on 13 June 2011 that they would contest the election in an alliance.
As a reaction to this centre-right alliance, the different liberal democratic and centrist parties intensified cooperation. Five parties have drafted a joint statement criticising the current electoral law and proposing a new one. On 16 August, 15 political and social movements announced an electoral alliance, the Egyptian Bloc
. It consists of liberal, secularist, and centre-left political parties, as well as social organisations and labour unions, and also the traditional Islamic Sufi Liberation Party. Its main objective is to prevent an imminent electoral victory of the Muslim Brotherhood, respectively Freedom and Justice Party. The Wafd Party announced to abandon its alliance with the Islamists over discrepancies concerning the prospective constitution, and to join the new liberal coalition instead.
On 12 August, three Islamic Salafi
parties (registered Nour
, and yet unregistered Fadila and Asala parties) announced to run a united candidate list.
Five socialist parties and movements formed the Coalition of Socialist Forces
party alliance to contest the elections jointly.
Some analysts voiced concerns that former members of the ruling NDP might gain a lot of influence in the newly elected parliament. Among the parties identified to have a strong base in former NDP members were:
announced
that it would bar foreign monitors because of what it claimed was the preservation of Egyptian sovereignty.
However, it would welcome foreign "Observers". Groups such as NDI, The Carter Center, the International Republican Institute and South African, Turkish, Polish and Danish groups have taken part. Alongside 300 foreign civil society representatives there are 25,000 accredited monitors and a lot more concerned citizens who have pledged to alert the organizers regarding any abuses they encounter.
Additionally, many egyptians have turned to citizen monitoring through social media such as Facebook
, Twitter
and YouTube
, uploading cited violations or turnouts.
(IPI) showed that New Wafd Party
, the oldest liberal party, had the support of 23 percent, 12 percent of Egyptian voters would vote for the Freedom and Justice Party
, and 10 percent still supported the now dissolved National Democratic Party
.
A Gallup
poll from June 2011 showed that the Muslim Brotherhood
had the support of 15 percent of the survey group, with over 60% of the people undecided. The dissolved National Democratic Party
would have scored 10 percent, the liberal New Wafd Party
9 percent, and the newly launched Wasat Party 5 percent.
July 7 public opinion survey by Al Jazeera
showed following voting intentions: 46% of those polled indicated they would vote for the Muslim Brotherhood, running under the Freedom and Justice Party banner, in the November parliamentary elections. An additional 27% would support the Salafist-backed Nour Party. The Wasat party, which represents a moderate islamism, came in third with 6%. The youth-based Hizb ElAdl, or Justice Party, was the top ranking secularist group, with only 5%.
July 26 survey by Newsweek
/The Daily Beast
showed following results: 29% Not sure/Undecided, 17% Freedom and Justice Party, 11% Al-Wafd Party, 7% National Democratic Party, 7% Free Egyptians Party, 5% Justice Party, 4% Freedom Egypt Party
, 3% Egyptian Current Party
, 3% Dignity Party
, 2% Egyptian Labor Party
, 2% El-Ghad Party, 2% Tagammu Party
, 1% AlWasat Party, 1% Democratic Front Party, 7% Other.
An August 2011 survey by the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) and Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute (DEDI) showed the following results: Egypt can expect a large turnout of voters in the upcoming parliamentary elections – more than 80% say that they are likely to vote, only 17.7% would not go to the polls. More than half of the voters (57.1%) are still undecided. The Muslim Brotherhood’s “Freedom and Justice Party” has support from 31.5% of the decided voters. However, the ‘Freedom and Justice Party’ splits the electorate in half – 39% of the voters view the party unfavourably vs. 36% in the favourable group. The political parties in general suffer from a lack of trust from the electorate – only the Revolutionary Youth Coalition
has a strong favourable/unfavourable (44% vs. 24%) standing. The party has a double digit support of 17.2%. The Wafd Party received 14.8%, Free Egyptians 7.5%, Nour 6.0%, Egyptian Social Democratic Party
5.2%, Nasserites 3.7%, Justice Party 2.6%, Tagammu 2.2%. Eleven other parties were also taken into account by the surveyors.
The second national voter survey by APSSC and DEDI indicated that 39% of voters have already decided they would choose the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in the upcoming parliamentary elections, while 20% voted in favour of the Wafd Party and 6.8% chose the Salafist Nour Party. According to the poll, 55% of those surveyed remain undecided. The third APSSC/DEDI surveys, in November, indicates that 49% of voters had already decided to whom to vote, 35.7% of which chose the FJP
, versus 26.2% that choose the Wafd
.
Large crowds turned out at the polling stations for the first stage of the polls. Such a turnout had caused the election committee to extend the hours of polling by two hours to end at 9:00 PM.
Even a majority of the protesters in Tahrir square who have been at the sit-in after deadly clashes a week earlier, had left their sit-in to join the polls before returning back to Tahrir Square. Although some have also boycotted the elections.
Although the government gave no official figures, the Muslim Brotherhood's observers estimated a turnout of about 30 to 32 percent, for the first day, in the 9 governorates that voted in the first phase, while in Cairo, turnout was reported at about 27 percent. An "exceptionally high turnout" was also reported in the governorate of Asyut
, especially among women. On the second day of the first round independent monitors placed the turnout at over 50 percent, while a spokesman for the military said that it could exceed 70 percent, maybe even reaching 80 percent. Abroad, turnout was around 60-70 percent according to the Egyptian foreign minister.
's Freedom and Justice Party
was likely leading in the first round of elections, with the Salafist Al Nour Party
in second place, the FJP denied it would seek an alliance with Al Nour.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
from November 2011 onwards, following the revolution which ousted
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
President Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, after which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces consists of a body of 20 senior officers in the Egyptian military. As a consequence of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the Council took the power to govern Egypt from its departing President Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011.The junta meets regularly, as...
dissolved the parliament of Egypt
Parliament of Egypt
The Parliament of Egypt is the currently dissolved bicameral legislature of Egypt. The Parliament is located in Cairo, Egypt's capital. As the legislative branch of the Egyptian government, the Parliament enacts laws, approves the general policy of the State, the general plan for economic and...
. Originally, the election was assumed to be held in September, but this was postponed following protests that the early elections would benefit established parties.
Background
In late 2010Egyptian parliamentary election, 2010
The Egyptian parliamentary elections of 2010 first voting round was held in Egypt on 28 November 2010 and the second round was held on 5 December 2010....
a parliamentary election was held, though it was followed by controversy and repression as well as accusations of fraud.
Following similar events in Tunisia, Egyptian activists called for protesters to turn up in cities around Egypt on various specially-designated days of rages. Though violence was reported at some points, protests were largely peaceful with the army staying quiet until 10 February with calls for Mubarak to resign. The following day, Vice President Omar Suleiman
Omar Suleiman
Omar Suleiman is a former Egyptian army general, politician, diplomat, and intelligence officer. A leading figure in Egypt's intelligence system beginning in 1986, Suleiman was appointed to the long-vacant Vice Presidency by then-President Hosni Mubarak on 29 January 2011...
announced Mubarak's resignation from the presidency while turning power over to the military. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi would lead the country for a transitional period until a civilian government takes over.
A constitutional referendum
Egyptian constitutional referendum, 2011
A constitutional referendum was held in Egypt on 19 March 2011, following the 2011 Egyptian revolution. More than 14 million were in favour, while around 4 million opposed the changes; 41% of 45 million eligible voters turned out to vote....
was then approved on 19 March that would ease the process to become president.
New electoral law
There were previously concerns that a change to the electoral system would be required, as the current district-based First-past-the-post voting system would favour the National Democratic PartyNational Democratic Party (Egypt)
The National Democratic Party , often simply called Al-Ḥizb al-Waṭaniy – the "National Party", was an Egyptian political party. It was founded by President Anwar El Sadat in 1978....
. The National Democratic Party was however dissolved in April.
The draft law for the electoral system to be used was revealed on 30 May 2011; controversially, it retained first-past-the-post voting for two thirds of the seats, with only one third of the seats elected by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
.
On 7 July 2011, the caretaker government approved the new electoral law. It foresees a 50–50 division between proportional seats and FPTP seats; the minimum age limit for candidates is also to be reduced from 30 to 25.
On 21 July 2011, the SCAF announced:
- that the election (for both the People's Assembly and the Shura Council) would be held in three rounds in October, with 15-day intervals in-between;
- that half the seats would be reserved for workers and farmers;
- that the women's quota introduced under Mubarak would be abolished.
In late September 2011, it was announced that only one third of the seats would be elected by plurality vote. However, these directly elected MPs could only be independents and not members of political parties; this restriction led to threats of boycotting the election by a wide swath of the political parties which intended to contest the election. The parties stated that their demands for a change in the electoral law would have to be met by 2 October, else they would boycott the election. After a meeting with political party leaders on 1 October 2011, the SCAF agreed to allow party members to run for the directly elected seats, set a clearer timetable for the transition to civilian rule and possibly abolish military trials for civilians.
On 11 November 2011, an administrative court in Mansoura ruled that former NDP members were not allowed to stand in the election as independent candidates. It was not immediately known whether this ruling would eventually apply to the whole country. On 14 November 2011, the Higher Administrative Court in Cairo overruled the decision and allowed the former NDP members to stand.
Voting System
The election to the Lower House - People's AssemblyPeople's Assembly of Egypt
The People's Assembly is the lower house of Egypt's bicameral parliament. In spite of its lower status, however, it plays a more important role in drafting legislation and day-to-day legislative duties than the Shura Council, the upper house....
will take place on the following dates:
- first stage: 28–29 November, run-off on 5 December;
- second stage: 14–15 December, run-off on 21 December;
- third stage: 3–4 January, run-off on 10 January.
There are a total 508 seats: 498 seats are elected, and 10 seats appointed, in this case, by the Military Council
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces consists of a body of 20 senior officers in the Egyptian military. As a consequence of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the Council took the power to govern Egypt from its departing President Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011.The junta meets regularly, as...
, and usually by the President.
Out of those 498 seats, two-thirds, meaning 332, shall be elected from the parties or coalition-lists proportional to the party's showing in 46 districts.
The remaining 166 seats are open to candidates running as individuals, who may or may not be affiliated with political parties, numbering two per each of the 83 districs. Out of these, the new parliament must have half "professionals", while the other half need to be "workers" or "farmers". If the winner of one of the two seats is allocated to a "professional", the second seat in the district shall be handed to a "worker" or a "farmer". Run-offs are assigned to the individual candidates who did not receive over 50% of the votes in the first round .
Additional requirements for parties include listing at least one woman and adopting a specific visual symbol, as an alternative detection to help the illiterate voters. . The same voting procedures shall apply to the upper house's election, too
The election for the upper house
Egyptian Shura Council election, 2012
Elections to the Shura Council will take place in Egypt on 29 January 2012 and some later dates, following elections to the National Assembly on 21 November 2011. The elections will likely be held in three stages....
, the Shura Council ("the Consultative Council") are to follow on 22 January 2012, and will take place in 3 stages as well between between 29 January and 11 March. Out of a total 270 seats: 180 seats are up for grabs and 90 seats shall be appointed after the presidential election, by the president-elect. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/28/us-egypt-election-system-idUSTRE7AR0VE20111128. Following these elections, the parliament shall select a committee that will draft a new constitution for Egypt. The new constitution shall than be submitted to a referendum. Only then will presidential election be held, "no later than 30 June 2012" according to Hussein Tantawi's statement.
Parties
The Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
announced on 15 February it would form the Freedom and Justice Party
Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt)
The Freedom and Justice Party , is an Islamist political party in Egypt. The party is nominally independent but has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, the largest and best organized political group in Egypt...
to run in the election. The Al-Wasat Party
Al-Wasat Party
Hizb al-Wasat al-Jadid , translated in English as the New Center Party but more commonly known as al-Wasat Party, is a moderate Islamic political party in Egypt.- Foundation :...
, a moderate Islamic faction of the Muslim Brotherhood, was officially approved as a party on 19 February, fifteen years after its foundation.
The Freedom and Justice Party and the liberal New Wafd Party
New Wafd Party
The New Wafd Party is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt.It is the extension of one of the oldest and historically most active political parties in Egypt, Wafd Party, which was dismantled after the 1952 Revolution. The New Wafd was re-established in 1983...
announced on 13 June 2011 that they would contest the election in an alliance.
As a reaction to this centre-right alliance, the different liberal democratic and centrist parties intensified cooperation. Five parties have drafted a joint statement criticising the current electoral law and proposing a new one. On 16 August, 15 political and social movements announced an electoral alliance, the Egyptian Bloc
Egyptian Bloc
The Egyptian Bloc is an electoral alliance in Egypt. It has been formed by several liberal, social democratic, and leftist political parties and movements, as well as the traditional Islamist Sufi Liberation Party to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood, and its affiliated Freedom and Justice Party from...
. It consists of liberal, secularist, and centre-left political parties, as well as social organisations and labour unions, and also the traditional Islamic Sufi Liberation Party. Its main objective is to prevent an imminent electoral victory of the Muslim Brotherhood, respectively Freedom and Justice Party. The Wafd Party announced to abandon its alliance with the Islamists over discrepancies concerning the prospective constitution, and to join the new liberal coalition instead.
On 12 August, three Islamic Salafi
Salafi
A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
parties (registered Nour
Al Nour Party
Al Nour Party is a Salafi Islamist political party in Egypt. The party was established after the 25 January, 2011 Egyptian Revolution.- Political orientation :...
, and yet unregistered Fadila and Asala parties) announced to run a united candidate list.
Five socialist parties and movements formed the Coalition of Socialist Forces
Coalition of Socialist Forces
The Coalition of Socialist Forces is a coalition of five socialist and left-wing groups in Egypt formed on 10 May 2011. The different forces agreed to enter into a "socialist front" in order "to create a more dominant leftist force" in post-revolutionary Egypt...
party alliance to contest the elections jointly.
Some analysts voiced concerns that former members of the ruling NDP might gain a lot of influence in the newly elected parliament. Among the parties identified to have a strong base in former NDP members were:
- the Egyptian Citizen Party, led by former NDP secretary-general Mohamed Ragab (other former NDP members include Hamdi El-Sayed, Abdel Ahad Gamal El Din and Nabil Louka Bibawi);
- Renaissance Egypt (Misr El-Nahda)/Unity Party (Al-Etihad), led by former NDP secretary-general Hossam BadrawiHossam BadrawiHossam Badrawi is an Egyptian physician and politician. He graduated from Cairo University in 1974. Between 1979 and 1983 he continued his studies at the Wayne State University where his main research fields were obstetrics and gynaecology....
; the party was officially registered under the second name on 20 September 2011; - the Freedom Party (Horreya), led by Mamdouh Ali Hassan, son of Mohamed Mahmoud (a large number of former NDP MPs joined this party);
- the Nationalist Egypt Party, led by Anwar SadatAnwar SadatMuhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
's nephew Talaat SadatTalaat SadatTalaat Sadat was an Egyptian politician, lawyer and former political prisoner. He is the nephew of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. Talaat was arrested on 4 October 2006 after giving an interview in which he implicated Egyptian military forces in his uncle's 1981 assassination...
, the last chairman of the NDP
Monitors
The Supreme Council of the Armed ForcesSupreme Council of the Armed Forces
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces consists of a body of 20 senior officers in the Egyptian military. As a consequence of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the Council took the power to govern Egypt from its departing President Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011.The junta meets regularly, as...
announced
Timeline of the 2011 Egyptian revolution under Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
The following is a chronological summary of the major events that occurred during the 2011 Egyptian revolution, after Hosni Mubarak's resignation as the fourth President of Egypt on 11 February.-12–15 February:...
that it would bar foreign monitors because of what it claimed was the preservation of Egyptian sovereignty.
However, it would welcome foreign "Observers". Groups such as NDI, The Carter Center, the International Republican Institute and South African, Turkish, Polish and Danish groups have taken part. Alongside 300 foreign civil society representatives there are 25,000 accredited monitors and a lot more concerned citizens who have pledged to alert the organizers regarding any abuses they encounter.
Additionally, many egyptians have turned to citizen monitoring through social media such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, uploading cited violations or turnouts.
Poll Surveys
A 9–20 March poll survey amongst 615 voting age Egyptians by the International Peace InstituteInternational Peace Institute
The International Peace Institute is an independent non-profit research and policy development institution based in New York. IPI specializes in multilateral approaches to peace and security issues, working closely with the Secretariat and membership of the United Nations...
(IPI) showed that New Wafd Party
New Wafd Party
The New Wafd Party is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt.It is the extension of one of the oldest and historically most active political parties in Egypt, Wafd Party, which was dismantled after the 1952 Revolution. The New Wafd was re-established in 1983...
, the oldest liberal party, had the support of 23 percent, 12 percent of Egyptian voters would vote for the Freedom and Justice Party
Freedom and Justice Party
The Freedom and Justice Party could refer to* Freedom and Justice Party * Freedom and Justice Party...
, and 10 percent still supported the now dissolved National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party
The National Democratic Party could refer to* Afar National Democratic Party* Kamerun National Democratic Party* National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party...
.
A Gallup
The Gallup Organization
The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational...
poll from June 2011 showed that the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
had the support of 15 percent of the survey group, with over 60% of the people undecided. The dissolved National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party
The National Democratic Party could refer to* Afar National Democratic Party* Kamerun National Democratic Party* National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party...
would have scored 10 percent, the liberal New Wafd Party
New Wafd Party
The New Wafd Party is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt.It is the extension of one of the oldest and historically most active political parties in Egypt, Wafd Party, which was dismantled after the 1952 Revolution. The New Wafd was re-established in 1983...
9 percent, and the newly launched Wasat Party 5 percent.
July 7 public opinion survey by Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
showed following voting intentions: 46% of those polled indicated they would vote for the Muslim Brotherhood, running under the Freedom and Justice Party banner, in the November parliamentary elections. An additional 27% would support the Salafist-backed Nour Party. The Wasat party, which represents a moderate islamism, came in third with 6%. The youth-based Hizb ElAdl, or Justice Party, was the top ranking secularist group, with only 5%.
July 26 survey by Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
/The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
showed following results: 29% Not sure/Undecided, 17% Freedom and Justice Party, 11% Al-Wafd Party, 7% National Democratic Party, 7% Free Egyptians Party, 5% Justice Party, 4% Freedom Egypt Party
Freedom Egypt Party
The Freedom Egypt Party is a political party in Egypt which was founded on 18 May 2011 by Amr Hamzawy and a group of Egyptian youth after the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.-External links:*...
, 3% Egyptian Current Party
Egyptian Current Party
The Egyptian Current Party is an Egyptian political party, founded after the revolution of 2011. It was formed by a portion of the Muslim Brotherhood's youth wing...
, 3% Dignity Party
Dignity Party (Egypt)
The Dignity Party is a left-wing Nasserist political party founded in Egypt in 1996....
, 2% Egyptian Labor Party
Socialist Labour Party (Egypt)
The Islamic Labour Party, previously the Socialist Labour Party , is an Islamist Egyptian political party. It is currently suspended.- Platform :The party platform calls for:...
, 2% El-Ghad Party, 2% Tagammu Party
National Progressive Unionist Party
The National Progressive Unionist Party is a socialist political party in Egypt. The party is considered to be the defender of the principles of the 1952 Revolution...
, 1% AlWasat Party, 1% Democratic Front Party, 7% Other.
An August 2011 survey by the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) and Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute (DEDI) showed the following results: Egypt can expect a large turnout of voters in the upcoming parliamentary elections – more than 80% say that they are likely to vote, only 17.7% would not go to the polls. More than half of the voters (57.1%) are still undecided. The Muslim Brotherhood’s “Freedom and Justice Party” has support from 31.5% of the decided voters. However, the ‘Freedom and Justice Party’ splits the electorate in half – 39% of the voters view the party unfavourably vs. 36% in the favourable group. The political parties in general suffer from a lack of trust from the electorate – only the Revolutionary Youth Coalition
Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution
The Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution is a coalition of organisations of young people involved in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.-Members:Members include:* The April 6 Youth Movement* A youth organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood...
has a strong favourable/unfavourable (44% vs. 24%) standing. The party has a double digit support of 17.2%. The Wafd Party received 14.8%, Free Egyptians 7.5%, Nour 6.0%, Egyptian Social Democratic Party
Egyptian Social Democratic Party
The Egyptian Social Democratic Party is a left liberal party in Egypt which was founded after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution by the merger of two minor liberal parties, the Egyptian Democratic Party, and the Liberal Egyptian Party on 29 March 2011...
5.2%, Nasserites 3.7%, Justice Party 2.6%, Tagammu 2.2%. Eleven other parties were also taken into account by the surveyors.
The second national voter survey by APSSC and DEDI indicated that 39% of voters have already decided they would choose the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in the upcoming parliamentary elections, while 20% voted in favour of the Wafd Party and 6.8% chose the Salafist Nour Party. According to the poll, 55% of those surveyed remain undecided. The third APSSC/DEDI surveys, in November, indicates that 49% of voters had already decided to whom to vote, 35.7% of which chose the FJP
Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt)
The Freedom and Justice Party , is an Islamist political party in Egypt. The party is nominally independent but has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, the largest and best organized political group in Egypt...
, versus 26.2% that choose the Wafd
New Wafd Party
The New Wafd Party is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt.It is the extension of one of the oldest and historically most active political parties in Egypt, Wafd Party, which was dismantled after the 1952 Revolution. The New Wafd was re-established in 1983...
.
| Conducted/ Published |
Polling Organisation/ Client |
Sample size | FJP Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt) The Freedom and Justice Party , is an Islamist political party in Egypt. The party is nominally independent but has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, the largest and best organized political group in Egypt... |
Wafd New Wafd Party The New Wafd Party is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt.It is the extension of one of the oldest and historically most active political parties in Egypt, Wafd Party, which was dismantled after the 1952 Revolution. The New Wafd was re-established in 1983... |
Nour Al Nour Party Al Nour Party is a Salafi Islamist political party in Egypt. The party was established after the 25 January, 2011 Egyptian Revolution.- Political orientation :... |
FEP | Adl Justice Party (Egypt) Hizb ElAdl , translated in English as the Justice Party is a political party in Egypt. It was founded after the 2011 Egyptian revolution by a group of people from different movements that lead to the revolution including the April 6 Movement, the National Association for Change and Kefaya.- History... |
Wasat | ESDP Egyptian Social Democratic Party The Egyptian Social Democratic Party is a left liberal party in Egypt which was founded after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution by the merger of two minor liberal parties, the Egyptian Democratic Party, and the Liberal Egyptian Party on 29 March 2011... |
Youth Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution The Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution is a coalition of organisations of young people involved in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.-Members:Members include:* The April 6 Youth Movement* A youth organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood... |
Ex-NDP National Democratic Party (Egypt) The National Democratic Party , often simply called Al-Ḥizb al-Waṭaniy – the "National Party", was an Egyptian political party. It was founded by President Anwar El Sadat in 1978.... |
other | undecided | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2011 | IPI International Peace Institute The International Peace Institute is an independent non-profit research and policy development institution based in New York. IPI specializes in multilateral approaches to peace and security issues, working closely with the Secretariat and membership of the United Nations... |
615 | 12% | 23% | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10% | 20% | 27% | ||||||||||||
| June 2011 | IPI International Peace Institute The International Peace Institute is an independent non-profit research and policy development institution based in New York. IPI specializes in multilateral approaches to peace and security issues, working closely with the Secretariat and membership of the United Nations... |
800 | 12% | 12% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 2% | - | - | 6% | 14% | 49% | ||||||||||||
| June 2011 | Gallup | ? | 15% | 9% | ? | ? | ? | 5% | ? | ? | 10% | ? | >60% | ||||||||||||
| July 2011 | Al Jazeera | ? | 46% | ? | 27% | ? | 5% | 6% | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||||||||||||
| July 2011 | Newsweek/ Daily Beast |
1,008 | 17% | 11% | - | 7% | 5% | 1% | ? | - | 7% | 14% | ? | ||||||||||||
| August 2011 | APSSC/DEDI | 2,400 | 31.5% | 14.8% | 6.0% | 7.5% | 2.6% | 1.6% | 5.2% | 17.2% | 0.4% | 13.2% | 57.1% | ||||||||||||
| October 2011 | APSSC/DEDI | 2,400 | 39.0% | 20.0% | 6.8% | 6.0% | 4.7% | 1.0% | 0.6% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 17.0% | 38% | ||||||||||||
| November 2011 | APSSC/ DEDI |
2,400 | 35.7% | 26.2% | 8.9% | 3.9% | 5.2% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 0.4% | 5.2% | 10.9% | 51% | ||||||||||||
Voter turnout
About 50 million people are eligible to vote out of a population in excess of 85 million - with candidates from 50 registered political parties.Large crowds turned out at the polling stations for the first stage of the polls. Such a turnout had caused the election committee to extend the hours of polling by two hours to end at 9:00 PM.
Even a majority of the protesters in Tahrir square who have been at the sit-in after deadly clashes a week earlier, had left their sit-in to join the polls before returning back to Tahrir Square. Although some have also boycotted the elections.
Although the government gave no official figures, the Muslim Brotherhood's observers estimated a turnout of about 30 to 32 percent, for the first day, in the 9 governorates that voted in the first phase, while in Cairo, turnout was reported at about 27 percent. An "exceptionally high turnout" was also reported in the governorate of Asyut
Asyut Governorate
Asyut Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. It stretches for about 120 km along the banks of the Nile. The capital of the governorate is the city of Asyut.-Etymology:...
, especially among women. On the second day of the first round independent monitors placed the turnout at over 50 percent, while a spokesman for the military said that it could exceed 70 percent, maybe even reaching 80 percent. Abroad, turnout was around 60-70 percent according to the Egyptian foreign minister.
Reactions
Following reports that the Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
's Freedom and Justice Party
Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt)
The Freedom and Justice Party , is an Islamist political party in Egypt. The party is nominally independent but has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, the largest and best organized political group in Egypt...
was likely leading in the first round of elections, with the Salafist Al Nour Party
Al Nour Party
Al Nour Party is a Salafi Islamist political party in Egypt. The party was established after the 25 January, 2011 Egyptian Revolution.- Political orientation :...
in second place, the FJP denied it would seek an alliance with Al Nour.