Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt from 28 November 2011 to 11 January 2012, following the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, after which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) dissolved Parliament. However the dissolution was ruled unconstitutional and Parliament was reinstated. Originally, the elections had been scheduled to be held in September 2011, but were postponed amid concerns that established parties would gain undue advantage.
The elections were proclaimed the first honest national elections of any sort held in Egypt since the overthrow of the monarchy in 1952. However, there were also complaints of irregularities and fraud. The main focus of the newly elected Parliament was to be the selection of the members of a Constituent Assembly.
Background.
In late 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 during the Arab Spring, Egyptian activists called for protesters to turn up in cities around Egypt on specific days. Though violence was reported at some points, protests were largely peaceful with the army staying quiet until 10 February 2011, when calls for Hosni Mubarak to resign were at their peak. 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 took over.
A constitutional referendum was then approved on 19 March that would ease the process of electing a president.
New electoral law.
The election was conducted under a parallel voting system. Two-thirds of seats were elected by party-list proportional representation. The remaining one-third were elected under a form of bloc voting in two-seat constituencies.
Choosing the system.
Prior to the elections there were concerns that a change to the electoral system would be required, as the pre-existing system would have favoured the National Democratic Party, the party of Mubarak loyalists. The National Democratic Party was dissolved in April, however.
The proposed draft law for the electoral system to be used was revealed on 30 May 2011; controversially, it retained bloc voting for two-thirds of the seats, with only one third of the seats elected by proportional representation (However, later it was changed as to two-thirds, 332 of MPs to be elected proportionally from lists).
On 7 July 2011, the caretaker government approved the new electoral law. It outlined a new 50–50 division between proportional seats and constituency 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, again new division was announced, in which only one third of the seats would be elected by bloc voting in two-seat constituencies. However, constituency 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 process.
The election to the People's Assembly took place on the following dates:
There are a total 508 seats in the Lower house: 498 seats are elected, and 10 seats appointed, in this case, by the Military Council, and usually by the President.
Under the parallel voting system used, out of 498 total seats, two-thirds, meaning 332, were elected by means of party list proportional representation. For these seats the public voted for parties or coalition-lists and the result was determined by the largest remainder method with a 0.5 percent threshold, in 46 districts.
The remaining 166 seats were elected by bloc voting in two-seat constituencies, with the possibility of a run off. In the election voters each cast two votes, which could not be for the same individual. These seats were open to candidates running as individuals, who might not be affiliated to political parties, numbering two per each of the 83 districts. Out of these, the new parliament must have at least half "laborers" or "farmers", while the "professionals" should constitute at most half of the parliament. If the winner of one of the two seats that are allocated to a certain district, is a "professional", the second seat in the district shall be handed to a "laborer" or a "farmer". Run-offs are assigned to the individual candidates who did not receive over 50% of the votes in the first round. For a detailed explanation, see.
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 29 January 2012, and will take place in 3 stages as well between 29 January and 22 February. (process was sped due to ongoing protests). Out of a total 270 seats in the Upper House: 180 seats are up for grabs and 90 seats shall be appointed after the presidential election, by the president-elect. 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 Brotherhood announced on 15 February it would form the Freedom and Justice Party to run in the election. Together with 27 other parties representing diverse political families, the Freedom and Justice Party formed the Democratic Alliance for Egypt. After several defections and entries, the Freedom and Justice Party-dominated coalition settled on 11 parties. The FJP fielded the overwhelming majority of the candidates, and all the Democratic Alliance for Egypt joint candidates ran under the FJP label.
As a reaction to this centre-right alliance, the different liberal democratic and centrist parties intensified cooperation. Five parties drafted a joint statement criticising the current electoral law and proposing a new one. On 16 August 15 political and social movements, some of which defected from the Democratic Alliance for Egypt, announced the Egyptian Bloc electoral alliance. It consisted of liberal, secularist, and centre-left political parties, as well as social organizations and labour unions, and also the traditional Islamic Sufi Liberation Party. Its main objective was to prevent an imminent electoral victory of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Freedom and Justice Party. After suffering many defections, the remaining Egyptian Bloc parties were: the Free Egyptians Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and the National Progressive Unionist Party (Tagammu).
The Socialist Popular Alliance Party and other parties defected from the Egyptian Bloc after it allowed Mubarak figures in its ranks; the Socialist Popular Alliance Party formed The Revolution Continues Alliance.
The liberal New Wafd Party announced on 13 June 2011 that it would contest the election in an alliance with the Freedom and Justice Party. The New Wafd later decided to abandon its alliance with the Islamists over discrepancies concerning the prospective constitution, and considered joining the new Egyptian Bloc liberal coalition instead. The New Wafd ended up running its own independent lists.
The Salafi Al-Nour Party withdrew from the Democratic Alliance for Egypt coalition due to disagreements with the Freedom and Justice Party over its share in the coalition's joint candidate lists. On 12 August, three Islamic Salafi parties (Nour, and two unregistered groups that later became the Authenticity Party and the Building and Development Party) announced that they would run a united candidate list. Their common list is officially called the "Alliance for Egypt", and is unofficially referred to as the "Islamist Bloc". The Al-Nour Party fielded the overwhelming majority of the candidates, and all the Alliance for Egypt joint candidates are running under the Al-Nour Party label.
The Al-Wasat Party, a moderate Islamic offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, was officially approved as a party on 19 February, fifteen years after its foundation. After withdrawing from the Democratic Alliance for Egypt, it formed an electoral coalition with the Renaissance Party and the Pioneer Party, both of which were founded by former members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Al-Wasat Party fielded the overwhelming majority of the coalition candidates, all of which ran under the Al-Wasat Party label.
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 had a strong base in former NDP members were:
Monitors.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces 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.
Voter turnout.
About 50 million people were eligible to vote out of a population in excess of 85 million – with candidates from 50 registered political parties. The overall voter turnout was 54%.
First phase.
In the first phase of election, the voter turnout was 59%.
Large crowds turned out at the polling stations for the first stage of the polls. Such a turnout prompted the election committee to extend the hours of polling by two hours to end at 21:00.
A majority of the protesters in Tahrir square who had been at the sit-in after deadly clashes a week earlier, left their sit-in to join the polls before returning to Tahrir Square, although some boycotted the election.
Even before the government gave the official figures, the FJP'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, and when reading the official results the head of the election committee stated that the overall turnout was 62%, "the highest number since the days of Pharaoh."
The turnout was relatively low according to "Al Jazeera", one of the reasons was that the Egyptians were not given a day off as they were given on 28–29 November.
Second phase.
Early reports on the voting turnout indicated a high turnout of long waiting lines, a repeat of the first PR phase voting day. The turnout for the first round was 65%.
Turnout for the run-offs of the second phase was 43%.
Third phase.
Voter turnout was 62%.
Results.
Many individual candidates did not receive the required 50% vote during the first phase, and therefore faced a run-off on 5 December. Even before the official results for each party or coalition-list were released, it was thought, by various international channels as well as leaks from people involved in the count, that the Freedom and Justice Party, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, was expected to receive around 40% of the vote and al-Nour would get between 15–30 percent. The Election Commission announced the participation of 62% of eligible voters, "the highest number since the days of Pharaoh".
In the second phase of the election, many analysts predicted a similar result as