Legislative Election in Egypt (2011-2012)

In November 2011 - January 2012, free multi-party democratic parliamentary elections were held in Egypt, in which the Islamic Party of Freedom and Justice won.

The Egyptians for the first time after the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime elected deputies of the National Assembly - the lower house of parliament.

The elections were held according to a rather complicated scheme in three stages according to the geographical principle and lasted until January 10, 2012. Two-thirds (332) of the 498 deputies were elected by party lists and a third (166) in single-member districts. Ten more deputies will be appointed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces . Only 508 deputies.

The provinces of the country were divided into three groups that voted on different dates. In total, about 40 parties and movements participated in the elections, nominating about 10 thousand candidates.

The first stage of voting was held on November 28 and 29, 2011. According to the results of voting on party lists, at the first stage of the elections, Islamic parties won 65% of the vote. The turnout at the first stage of the election was 52%. ^[one]

The second stage of the parliamentary elections was held on December 14-15, 2011. In the second round of parliamentary elections in Egypt, the voter turnout was 67%. Nine provinces of Egypt participated in this round of elections - Giza, Beni-Sueyf, Manufiya, Sharqiya, Ismailiya, Suez, Buheira, Sohag and Aswan. In most districts, repeat elections were required for candidates nominated as single-mandate candidates. According to unofficial data, as in the first round of November 28-29, the Muslim Brotherhood Party continues to lead the election.

The third is January 3-4, 2012.

01/01/2012 in Egypt summed up the results of the third round of parliamentary elections. The Islamist bloc has confirmed its leadership. In the first place is the party of Freedom and Justice of the Muslim Brotherhood. She has more than 37 percent of the vote.

Slightly less than 30 percent of the Al-Nur party of Muslim Salafists.

The general alignment of forces: the Islamists in total received about two-thirds of the seats in the lower house of the Egyptian parliament - the People’s Assembly.

For the first time, candidates from the country's oldest liberal party, New Wafd , broke out for the first time. At the beginning of the 20th century, wafdists played an important role in the processes that swept the country, which led first to the overthrow of the British protectorate, and in the middle of the century to the anti-monarchist revolution.

Democrats from the Al-Kutlya al-Masriya block / Egyptian block / rolled back in the third round to fourth place.

The biggest disappointment was the failure of the election of youth parties and movements that were behind the organization of mass protests against the Mubarak regime.

On January 10 and 11, by-elections were held in single-mandate constituencies.

On January 13, the Central Election Commission summed up the final results of the first parliamentary elections after the “January 25th Revolution” :

Islamic parties “Freedom and Justice” ( Muslim Brotherhood ) and “Al-Nur” (Egyptian Salafists), as a result of the elections to the People’s Assembly (lower house of parliament), gained about 71% of the vote.

Distribution of deputy mandates :

1) The “ Freedom and Justice Party” receives 235 out of 498 seats in the National Assembly (47% of the seats in parliament; 127 seats / 38% in voting on party lists).

2) The more radical Islamic Salafi party Al-Nur - 121 seats (24% of the seats; 96 seats in the vote on party lists). Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya , which the authorities did not allow to register its own party, Creation and Development, held its candidates on the lists of the An-Nur party. New Al-Gamaa Supporters Represented in Egypt's New People's Assembly

3) Egypt’s oldest liberal party , New Wafd / Al-Wafd , will receive 43 seats (9% in all; 36 seats on party lists).

4) The list is closed by the block of secular liberal parties Al-Kutlya al-Masriya / Egyptian block / - 39 seats (33 seats in the vote on party lists).

5) the centrist party Al-Wasat - 10 mandates to vote on party lists,

6) The revolutionary coalition (based on the Socialist People’s Bloc ) - 7 seats in the vote on party lists;

7) Three more new parties that formed after the “January 25th revolution” -

Reform and Development Party ,

Freedom Party

National Egypt - receive a total of 16 seats in the vote on party lists.

8) Al-Adl party - 5 seats (2 mandates in voting on party lists).

9) The remaining little-known parties received another 5 places in the vote on party lists.

10) independent deputies - 17 seats.

It is also reported that in the new "revolutionary" parliament there will be only six Christian deputies.

There are still 40 vacant seats in the National Assembly, the distribution of which will require by-elections. ^[2]

On January 23, 2012, Mohammed Saad al-Katatni , one of the leaders of the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, the Freedom and Justice Party (PSS), was elected speaker of the People’s Assembly (lower house of the Egyptian parliament). 399 out of 503 parliamentary deputies voted for his candidacy (Altogether, as of January 23, 508 deputies took the oath). Al-Katatni is an experienced parliamentarian who led the Islamist faction in the National Assembly (2005 elections).

January 29 and 30, 2012 1st round of elections to the upper house of the Egyptian parliament - Advisory Council (or Shura Council) .

At the first stage, 13 Egyptian provinces vote: Cairo, Alexandria, Asyut, Red Sea, Dacahlia, Garbia, El Fayyum, Manufiya, El Wadi El Gedid, North Sinai, South Sinai, Dumyat, Kena. Nearly 25.5 million people have the right to vote in these provinces. Security at polling stations is jointly provided by the police and the military. The first stage re-election will take place on February 7th.

The second stage of voting will take place on February 14 and 15. Another 14 regions of Egypt will vote: Luxor, Port Said, Kafr al-Sheikh, Giza, Beni Sueif, Sharqia, Ismailia, Suez, Buheira, Sohag, Aswan, El Minya, Qalyubia, Matruh. The second round re-election is scheduled for February 22. The first meeting of the Advisory Board should take place on February 28th.

The upper house of the Egyptian parliament (its deputies have no right to reject bills) consists of 270 members. Two thirds of the council are elected by secret ballot. Another 90 deputies are appointed by the head of state - the president.

The Council is elected for a term of six years with the renewal of half of the deputies every three years by internal vote.

Voting to the Advisory Council takes place on party lists and single-member districts.

Egyptian Islamists have won the majority of seats (56% of the total 270) in the Advisory Council of the country.

"Party of Freedom and Justice" - won 106 seats in the upper house of the Egyptian parliament.

In turn, the An-Nur party uniting supporters of the Salafi movement received 46 deputy mandates.

With a huge backlog, the third place was taken by the liberal New Wafd party . She will get 19 seats in the legislative body.

The representative of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, Ahmad Fahmi, became the speaker of the upper house of the Egyptian parliament. On February 28, 2012, he was elected Chairman of the Advisory Council (upper house of parliament) of Egypt.

• On June 14, 2012, the Egyptian Constitutional Court ruled that the elections to the lower house of parliament were unconstitutional and completely reversed their results. In particular, the court decided that according to the electoral law, some seats in parliament (for parties) were elected according to the proportional system, while another (intended for non-partisan single-mandate candidates) was elected according to the majority. This led to the fact that the places intended for non-partisan candidates were transferred to the parties. Thus, one third of the deputies is illegitimate ^{[3] [4]} . As a result, of the 166 single-mandate deputies of the 508-seat National Assembly, only 25 turned out to be truly independent deputies, while the rest represent mainly Salafists or Muslim Brotherhood. "The decision on parliament includes the complete dissolution of the lower house, since elections were held according to the rules that are contrary to the constitution," Faruk Soltan, head of the country's Supreme Court, said in an interview with Reuters. This decision applies only to the lower house (National Assembly) and does not affect the upper house - the Shura Council. As the head of the Constitutional Court Faruk Sultan explained, the judges considered exclusively the lawsuit filed against the National Assembly. “There were no complaints about Shura,” he explained.

Civil activists believe that the military is trying to seize power in the country and call the decision of the Supreme Court a coup that undermines the gains of the revolution, as it was passed by judges appointed under the previous regime. According to BBC Egypt correspondent John Lane, many expected the judges to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections as partially illegitimate, but no one expected the judges to declare them completely unconstitutional and declare the need for new elections.

Muhammad Mursi , the leader in the presidential race, said he was dissatisfied with the court’s decision, but he accepted it. "I respect the decision of the Supreme Constitutional Court, how I respect state institutions and the principle of separation of powers," Mursi said in an interview with Egyptian television. However, later, turning to voters, he noted that a turning point had come in the country. "The minority is trying to corrupt the nation and bring us back. We will go to the polls to say no to these losers, these criminals," he said.

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt was in solidarity with the decision of the Constitutional Court and officially announced on June 16 that the country's parliament had been dissolved. The military issued a ban to deputies to enter the parliament building in Cairo. As a result of the decision of the Constitutional Court, Egypt found itself without a lower house of parliament.

• February 21, 2013 - The Upper House of the Egyptian Parliament - the Advisory Council - approved all the amendments to the new election law that the Supreme Constitutional Court requested.
• June 2, 2013 - The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt declared the procedure for elections to the upper house of parliament (Advisory Council or Shura Council) unlawful. The court found that the elections to the upper house did not comply with the new Constitution, which was developed by the Constitutional Commission and approved by referendum in December 2012, recognizing its formation as contrary to the main law and the election law (the court canceled the results of the elections of a third of single-mandate deputies). In accordance with the new constitution, legislative power in the country belongs to the upper house of parliament - the Shura Council. The chamber will continue to perform its duties until the new elections scheduled for 2014. The court also declared unlawful the creation and formation of the Constitutional Commission, which developed the constitution and the law on the state of emergency. The commission was illegally formed by parliament, which the military dismissed in June 2012. The Advisory Council was vested with legislative powers by the Constitutional Declaration adopted by President Mohammed Mursi in December 2012. In the summer of 2012, the court recognized the elections to the lower house of parliament as not complying with the law and the Shura Council served as the parliament.
• July 5, 2013 - interim president-appointed Adli Mansour signed a decree to dissolve the Shura Council, the upper house of the Egyptian parliament.