At stake in this election:

• 454 seats in the People's Assembly (Majlis Al-Sha'b)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Mohamed Hosni MUBARAK
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Ahmed NAZIF
• 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 454 seats.

* A national referendum in May 2005 approved a constitutional amendment that changed the presidential election to a multicandidate popular vote. Previously, the president was nominated by the People's Assembly and the nomination was validated by a national, popular referendum. Candidates may run with a party or as independents. Each registered political party is allowed to field a candidate if they have been licensed for at least five years and hold at least five percent of the seats in the lower and upper houses of parliament. In order to qualify as an independent, potential candidates must collect 250 signatures from elected officials. These officials can be from both the national and municipal level.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 6-year term.
• The 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), 444 members are elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve 5-year terms and 10 members are appointed by the president to serve 5-year terms.**

** Every district contains two seats and electors are given two votes. At least one seat in each district is reserved for a worker or farmer. If no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first round, a second round is held one week later. This round will contain the top 4 vote-getters, provided 2 are workers and/or farmers. If the two top candidates in the first round are not workers or farmers, the top candidate is elected, while a new simple majority poll is held a week later among the top workers and farmers.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Independent(s): The Muslim Brotherhood*
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 88
• Party: Tomorrow Party / Hizb al-Ghad
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 1
• Party: New Delegation Party / Hizb al-Wafd al-Jadid
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 6
• Party: National Democratic Party (NDP) / al-Hizb al-Watani al-Dimocrati
  • Leader: Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 311
• Party: National Progressive Unionist Party / Hizb al Tagammu' al Watani al Taqadomi al Wahdawi
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 2
     

* The Political Parties Law of 1977 (Law 40/1977) prohibits political parties based on religious identity, however, Brotherhood members often run as independents.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 77,505,756 (July 2005 est.)
• Registered Voters: 31,890,106 (2005)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 37,180,097 (2005)

·         Is Egypt a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (16 July 1980)

·         Has Egypt ratified CEDAW: Yes (18 September 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 9 (following the 2005 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 108 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Egypt a signatory to CRPD: Yes (4 April 2007)

·         Has Egypt ratified CRPD: Yes (14 April 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 11,625,863 (est.)