Back Middle East and North Africa: Egypt Political Overview When Egyptian voters went to the polls in November and December 2005 to elect a new 454-member People's Assembly, there was a sense of optimism due to promised reforms, a recently contested presidential election, public demonstrations, and stronger civil society participation in the political process. However, the elections were marred by violence, vote rigging, and voter intimidation, raising significant questions regarding Egypt's commitment to democratic reform. President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) won a two-thirds majority, and the Muslim Brotherhood made significant gains, but Egypt's secular opposition did poorly. One positive element that emerged from the elections was the success of civic organizations in their efforts to observe and report on the electoral process. Although these groups operate in a constrained environment, they continue to play a vital role in addressing citizens' concerns regarding political and constitutional reforms. This was evident during a recent string of street protests in which activists demanded an end to emergency rule and the curtailing of presidential powers. Program Overview In May 2005, NDI established a new field office in Egypt and launched a 12-month, multifaceted program to foster a more open, multiparty political system through increased citizen participation and political party development. The program seeks to: strengthen the capacity of Egyptian civic organizations to observe and analyze the integrity of the electoral process and effectively communicate their findings to the Egyptian public and international community; improve the capacity of political parties to monitor the integrity of the electoral process; build a constituency for broad political and electoral reforms through dialogue between political parties and civic organizations; and strengthen the capacity of political parties to develop more democratic and representative internal structures with clearer platforms.   Group photo from NDI's TOT workshop for the ECWR NDI is currently planning program activities in Egypt that will continue to foster a more democratic political system. NDI is also exploring the feasibility of conducting focus group research projects to gauge the views of citizens on constitutional and political reforms. Recent Activities Leading up to and during the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections, NDI's activities included: Ten workshops and dozens of consultations with more than 200 observers and civic leaders on the rights and responsibilities of observers, communication plans and reporting mechanisms, media relations and strategies, recruitment and deployment strategies, financial management, election campaign monitoring, candidate registration monitoring, and media monitoring A 13-member presidential election assessment mission which issued a report on its findings and recommendations to improve the electoral environment prior to the November parliamentary elections During the parliamentary elections, NDI deployed election monitoring experts throughout Egypt to provide guidance and assistance to domestic monitoring coordinators Background NDI has conducted programs in Egypt since 1995, when it supported the Independent Commission for Electoral Review (ICER) leading up to the legislative elections. With NDI's guidance, ICER recruited more than 600 volunteers to monitor the polls in 88 constituencies. ICER's subsequent reports documented hundreds of electoral irregularities. Following the 1995 elections, NDI provided technical assistance to the newly formed Group for Democratic Development (GDD) and the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR) in their efforts to develop grassroots civic education programs. While the GDD decided to suspend operations in 2000, the ECWR has become one of the best run and most active organizations dedicated to women's political participation in the Arab world. In recent years, NDI assisted the ECWR in training women in the areas of elections and political party activism, provided the Center with the skills necessary to influence public policy through advocacy, held a study mission to train journalists on election coverage, and worked with civic organizations to increase their organizational capacity. In addition, NDI worked with civic organizations and international observers to monitor the 2005 parliamentary and presidential elections. Contact Information For further information on our programs in Egypt, please contact: Katie Croake, Senior Program Officer Send Email Updated September 2007 Back