Egypt’s House of Representatives gave final approval on Sunday to amendments to the laws governing House and Senate elections, retaining a controversial system combining closed party lists and individual candidacy. The decision, passed with a large majority, was met with warnings from opposition MPs about its impact on the country’s political future.
The proposal, introduced by Majority Leader Abdel Hadi El-Qasabi, was backed by over a tenth of parliament members and opposed by five MPs. During the session, three lawmakers called for a return to full judicial supervision of elections. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Mahmoud Fawzy responded, “Who said judicial supervision has been abolished?” He emphasized that judges from Egypt’s judicial organizations still oversee the process.
Part Five of the constitution defines the judicial organizations as the State Lawsuits Authority and the Administrative Prosecution.
Article 34 of the National Elections Authority Law stipulates that full judicial supervision ends ten years after the 2014 Constitution took effect, meaning it expired on Jan. 17, 2024. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had previously recommended legislative changes to reinstate full judicial oversight in a March 2023 directive.
However, the Justice Support Foundation, a legal advocacy group, has argued that extending full judicial supervision of elections, independent of the National Elections Authority, would constitute a “clear constitutional violation.” According to the group, amending Article 34 of the Elections Authority Law would require revising at least three constitutional articles, not merely passing a legislative amendment.
Parties supporting the amendment included Nation’s Future, the Republican People’s Party, Homeland Defenders, Modern Egypt, and the Coordination Committee of Parties’ Youth Leaders and Politicians. Members pointed to rising voter rolls and the constitutional mandate for fair representation as justification for redistricting. The changes do not increase the number of seats in either chamber but revise the constituency map to reflect demographic shifts.
The House of Representatives has 596 members, 568 of whom are elected—50% through individual candidacy and 50% through closed party lists. The president appoints the remaining 28 members. The Senate consists of 300 members, a third of whom are appointed, a third elected via closed lists, and the rest through individual candidacy.
Despite the redistricting, the amendments leave the electoral system unchanged. The issue was a point of contention during the National Dialogue sessions two years ago, with opposition parties pushing for proportional representation. Those sessions ended with recommendations for a hybrid system combining proportional and absolute lists, but no consensus emerged.
Opposition MP Diaa Eldin Daood criticized the amendments as contradicting the spirit of the National Dialogue launched by the president in April 2022. He argued that maintaining the absolute closed-list system for 50% of seats perpetuates political stagnation. “Everyone agreed that the electoral system should be reformed in favor of a more open and pluralistic model,” Daood said. He questioned the current system’s ability to represent citizens and foster public satisfaction, warning, “Public trust is the foundation of the state’s stability, especially given the current regional and international climate.”
“People are not content. They are anxious. They want genuine representation,” he added, calling for upholding the constitutional guarantee of judicial oversight: “People need to know there’s a judge at every ballot box.”
Minister Fawzy countered that the dialogue did not result in a unified recommendation, but rather three competing proposals were sent to the president.
Justice Party head Abdel Moneim Imam defended the opposition’s engagement, highlighting seven draft laws submitted during the National Dialogue. He was responding to MP Alaa Abed, deputy head of Nation’s Future, who had criticized the opposition for failing to offer alternatives.
MP Ahmed El-Sharkawy said the amendments “amount to a declaration that political stagnation will continue.” He also questioned the value of a dialogue process that yields no substantive change.
In a related move, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Reform and Development Party, and the Justice Party jointly launched the Democratic Path Alliance. In their statement, the coalition rejected the election law, saying it “reneges on the outcomes of the National Dialogue.” They affirmed their “right to resist what we see as a regression from the path forged by this dialogue,” emphasizing that “one of the most important steps in this resistance is participating in the upcoming elections through this alliance to present a different political vision and offer the public and Egyptian citizens better alternatives.”
According to the statement, the alliance plans to run in all individual races for both the House and the Senate. “At the same time, the member parties are studying their position on list-based races through various open options. Their positions may differ on the lists, but whether through this alliance or in coordination with other forces, they remain committed to contesting the individual seats.”
