Egypt Government

The political system of Egypt can be classified as a semi-presidential republic following the Egyptian Revolution that occurred in 2011. Egypt was ruled by royal families for centuries until 1952, but the first elected president did not take office until 2011. The President of the country is elected for a four-year term which can be renewed once. Candidates for the presidency must provide 30,001 signatures from at least 15 different provinces in the nation or be supported by 30 members of a chamber of government. Candidates can also be nominated by any party holding at least one seat in the Egyptian parliament.

The last Egyptian national election took place in May of 2014, and there were only two candidates (Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahi). Sisi won 97% of the 2014 vote, a result that has been somewhat criticised by international observers. Just 47.5% of eligible voters turned out for this election, and the next elections are expected to be heavily controlled by the armed forces of Egypt.

The parliament of Egypt, located in Cairo, is made up of 596 seats, 448 of these elected through the individual candidacy system, 120 elected through party-lists, and 28 positions are selected by the president. Egypt did not have a parliament for three years from 2012-2015 and was back under dictatorial rule. The most recent elections for parliament took place during the later months of 2015. The legislature of Egypt is the oldest legislative chamber in both Africa and the Middle East having been founded in 1866.

Although Egypt is technically a multiparty system, there was only one dominant party before the 2011 Revolution, the National Democratic Party. Today, political parties in Egypt are allowed to form but must meet a number of strict guidelines.