| Parliament name |
- |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Majlis Ash-Shura / Shoura Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Majlis Al-Chaab / People's Assembly
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 11 June 2007
18 June 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for one half of the Shoura Assembly (88) on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 11 May 2007
President Hosni Mubarak called mid-term elections to the 264-member Shoura Assembly for 11 June. At stake were half (88) of the 176 directly elected seats. Other seats are appointed by the President.
In the previous elections held in 2004
the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) had won 85 of the 88 directly elected seats. It also held 40 of the 44 seats appointed in 2004.
The 2007 elections were the first to be held following the approval in March 2007 of constitutional amendments. The changes abolished the judicial supervision of elections and banned political activities based on religion
which impacted the electoral chances of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB)
a banned Islamist group. MB-backed candidates had won 88 of the 444 seats in the 2005 elections to the People's Assembly.
A total of 609 candidates
including 10 women
ran in the 2007 elections. The NDP fielded 109 candidates
11 of whom won seats unopposed. It called on voters' support for its "past performance and efforts in the people's interest"
and urged massive participation in the elections. Being the only party to field candidates in all constituencies
the NDP was widely expected to win by a landslide.
The MB
which pledged to bring more freedom to the country
backed 19 independent candidates. Some 800 MB members were reportedly detained by 7 June. In the wake of police crackdowns
the MB-backed candidates kept a low profile during the election campaign. Instead of using posters and slogans
they tried to establish direct contact with voters by visiting their homes.
Two opposition parties (the New Wafd Party and the Nasserist Arab Democratic Party)
which had been part of the coalition with the MB known as the National Front for Change (NFC) in the 2005 elections to the People's Assembly
boycotted the 2007 elections. They argued that the elections would not be fair under the amended constitution
and called for enhanced judicial control
demanding the presence of one judge at each polling station. Among the main opposition parties
only the Tagammu Party (also known as the National Progressive Unionist Grouping
which was part of the NFC)
took part in the elections. It also opposed the constitutional amendments
but argued that a boycott would not bring about a better constitution.
In all
only 69 candidates representing opposition parties contested the elections. Other opposition parties included the Democratic Generation Party (El-Geel)
the Egyptian Greens (Hizb Al-khodr)
the Constitutional Party (Dostory)
and the Solidarity Party (Takaful). Most of these opposition parties held appointed seats in the Shoura Assembly. The remaining candidates were former members of the People's Assembly
who ran as independents after the NDP declined to back their candidacy.
On 11 June
31.23 per cent of the 23 million eligible voters turned out at the polls.
Clashes between supporters of rival candidates reportedly resulted in the death of one person
with several others injured. Police arrested 400 MB members. The MB accused the government of violations and irregularities
notably that opposition supporters were barred from entering polling stations - an allegation which the government denied.
A total of 60 candidates secured the majority vote required to be elected in the first round. The NDP took 59 of these seats
while the Tagammu Party took one. No candidate backed by the MB was elected. In the run-off elections held on 18 June
the NDP won all 17 remaining seats. It thus won a total of 87 seats (including 11 unopposed seats)
controlling 172 of the 176 elective seats. Only one woman was elected.
On 21 June
President Mubarak appointed 44 members
including 33 NDP members (see note on the distribution of seats). Nine women were appointed.
On 25 June
newly-elected members were sworn in alongside the members appointed by President Mubarak. Mr. Saftwat el Sherif
the sole candidate for the post
was unanimously re-elected as President of the Shoura Assembly. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 11 June 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
23'378'962
7'301'478 (31.23%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Round no 2 | 18 June 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Total seats 2007 |
Total elective seats |
Total appointed |
Grand total |
| National Democratic Party (NDP) |
70
|
|
|
|
|
| Tagammu Party |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Front Party (Gabhah) |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Generation Party (El-Geel) |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| New Wafd Party |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Constitutional Party (Dostory) |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Egyptian Greens (Hizb Al-khodr) |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Solidarity Party (Takaful) |
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Total seats 2007 |
Total elective seats |
Total appointed |
Grand total |
| National Democratic Party (NDP) |
17
|
87 |
172 |
73 |
245 |
| Constitutional Party (Dostory) |
0
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Democratic Front Party (Gabhah) |
0
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Democratic Generation Party (El-Geel) |
0
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| New Wafd Party |
0
|
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Solidarity Party (Takaful) |
0
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Tagammu Party |
0
|
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| Independents |
0
|
0 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
| Egyptian Greens (Hizb Al-khodr) |
0
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
122
10
7.58%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
Unknown
|
2
50
66
102
43
1
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Clerical occupations |
51 |
| Educators |
48 |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
38 |
| Business/trade/industry employees
including executives |
32 |
| Legal professions |
29 |
| Others |
19 |
| Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers) |
17 |
| Medical professions (doctors
dentists
nurses) |
16 |
| Military/police officers |
12 |
| Media-related professions (journalists/publishers) |
11 |
| Engineers/PC experts |
11 |
| Economists |
11 |
| Bankers (including invest bankers)/accountants |
10 |
| Consultants (including real estate agents) |
9 |
| Architects |
3 |
| Liberal professions (including artists
authors) and sports professionals |
2 |
| Scientists and researchers |
2 |
|
| Comments |
Note on the distribution of seats
"Total seats 2007" refers to the total number of members elected in 2007. "Total elective seats" refers to the total number of members elected in both 2004 and 2007.
"Total appointed" refers to the total number of appointed members. The figure refers to the number of members appointed in 2007.
National Democratic Party (NDP): 33
Constitutional Party (Dostory): 1
Democratic Front Party (Gabhah): 0
Democratic Generation Party (El-Geel): 0
Egyptian Greens (Hizb Al-khodr): 1
Tagammu Party: 1
New Wafd Party: 1
Solidarity Party (Takaful): 1
Independents: 6
Total: 44
Note on the distribution of seats according to sex:
Following the partial renewal of the Shura Assembly in June 2007
there were 21 women among a total of 264 members. One woman was elected and nine others were appointed in 2007. No women had been elected in 2004
but 11 had been appointed.
Note on the distribution of seats according to profession:
Some members have listed more than one primary occupation.
Source: Shoura Assembly (19.11.2007
01.01.2008
21.02.2008) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
