EGYPT: Parliamentary elections

Description of government structure:

•Chief of State: President --- --- *

•Head of Government: Prime Minister Essam SHARAF

•Assembly: Egypt has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Advisory Council (Majilis Al-Shura) with 264 seats and the People's Assembly (Majlis Al-Sha'b) with 498 seats.

* The office of president has been vacant since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Muhammad Hussein TANTAWI, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, is Acting head of state.

Description of electoral system:

•The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 6-year term.

•Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.

•In the Advisory Council (Majilis Al-Shura), 176 members are elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve 6-year terms and 88 members are appointed by the president to serve 6-year terms. In the People's Assembly (Majlis Al-Sha'b), 166 members are elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve 5-year terms and 332 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

Main parties in the electoral race:

•Party: Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) / حزبالحريةوالعدالة‎ , Ḥizb al-ḥurriya wa al-’adala

 Leader: Mohamed MORSY

•Party: New Wafd (Delegation) Party / Hizb al-Wafd al-Jadid حزبالوفدالجديد

Leader: Sayyid EL-BADAWI

•Bloc: The Egyptian Bloc / الكتلةالمصرية‎, al-kutla al-miṣriyya***

 Leader: N/A

•Party: Al Nour Party / : حزبالنور‎, ḥizb al-nūr

 Leader: Emad Eddine ABDEL-GHAFFOUR

•Alliance: Coalition of Socialist Forces / تحالفالقوىالاشتراكية*****

Leader: N/A

•Party: Al-Wasat Party / حزبالوسطالجديد

Leader: Abul ELAMADI

Read more about the elections on IFES