The Parliament of Egypt is the supreme legislative body of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The parliament is bicameral, with the Senate functioning as the upper house and the House of Representatives as the lower house.

The Parliament is located in New Capital, Egypt's capital. Under the country's 2014 constitution, as the legislative branch of the Egyptian state, the Parliament enacted laws, approved the general policy of the State, the general plan for economic and social development and the general budget of the State, supervised the work of the government, and had the power to vote to impeach the President of the Republic, or replace the government and its Prime Minister by a vote of no-confidence.

The parliament is made up of 596 seats, with 448 seats elected through the individual candidacy system, 120 elected through winner-take-all party lists (with quotas for youth, women, Christians, and workers) and 28 selected by the president. It is the seventh-largest legislative chamber in the world behind China's National People's Congress and the largest parliamentary body in the Arab world.

History and composition

Egypt is known for beginning the earliest administrative and legislative codes in history. Throughout its history, formidable human cultures and civilizations offered the most advanced form of governance and management. The Egyptian Civilization laid the groundwork of governance and management. The Pharaoh, on top of the state hierarchy, appointed high-ranking government officials. A viable system of government has been in force ever since the third and fourth dynasties, several codes were unleashed; some were related to limited working hours of peasants while others combatted forced labor and other tiring jobs.

Parliamentary life began in Modern Egypt as early as 1866, and since then several forms of national assemblies have been formed, dismantled, and amended to reach the present-day form. Since 1866, Egypt witnessed seven parliamentary systems whose legislative and oversight competencies varied and reflected the history of the Egyptian people's struggle to establish a society based on democracy and freedom. For more than 135 years of parliamentary history, Egypt witnessed 32 Parliaments whose members ranged between 75 and 458 who contributed to writing Egypt's modern political social, economic, and cultural history. According to the present-day constitution, the Parliament consists only of the House of Representatives ("Maǧlis an-Nowwab"), a 596-member lower house.

Suspension of Parliament

Egypt was without a parliament for three years. The parliament was dissolved in June 2012. On 8 July 2012, President Mohamed Morsi said he would override the edict that had dissolved the country's elected lawmakers, but that was followed by his deposition. Elections for parliament were held from 17 October 2015 to 2 December 2015.

Organization and powers

Organization

Formation of the House

The 2014 constitution that was passed in the 2014 constitutional referendum has put into place the following rules: the House that is elected following the ratification of the constitution must have at least 450 members. In addition, prospective members must be Egyptian, must be at least 25 years old and must hold an education certificate.

  • Media, Culture and Antiquities committee
  • Industry Committee
  • Social Solidarity committee
  • African Affairs committee
  • Manpower committee
  • Housing committee
  • Transport committee
  • Economic Affairs Committee
  • Defence and national security committee
  • Arab Affairs Committee
  • Legislative and Constitutional Affairs committee
  • Human Rights committee
  • Youth and Sports committee
  • Agriculture committee
  • Local Administration committee
  • Complaints and Proposals Committee
  • Education Committee
  • Health Committee
  • Telecommunications Committee
  • Budget and Planning Committee
  • Foreign Affairs Committee
  • Middle and Small-Scale Enterprises committee
  • Tourism committee

Ethics Committee

This committee is formed in the beginning of the House' annual season, headed by one of the HR speaker deputies. The membership includes the heads of the following committees: Constitutional Affairs and Legislation; Religious, Social and Awkaf Affairs; and Suggestions and Grievances; five members of the General Committee (of whom at least two are from the opposition parties); and five members chosen randomly from the House. This committee is responsible for looking into the violations committed by House members towards the Egyptian society's code of behavior towards religion, social standards, etc.

Ad hoc and combined committees

The ad hoc committees are formed by the suggestion of the Speaker or the request of the government to study, debate on a new bill or law, voting on the ratification of a new law or bill or a special issue of concern. The Speaker is responsible on choosing members for this committee. The Combined committees are formed by the request of the Speaker, the government, members of two or more of the specialized committees, with the aim of studying a particular issue of concern. These combined committees are headed by one of the Speaker's deputies. The orders of these committees are issued when a majority vote is achieved.

Parliamentary Chapter

The Egyptian House of Representatives is the Egyptian representative of the international parliamentary conventions. This chapter aims at developing of mutual relations with international parliaments. The General Assembly of this chapter consists of the entire membership of the House, and headed by the Speaker. The executive committee of this chapter of the Speaker staff office, three members chosen from the Assembly membership of whom at least one is a member of the opposition parties. The Assembly meets in its chapter form every January. Emergency sessions are held by the request of the executive committee to look into any of additionally outlined issues of concern.

Election and campaigning

Egyptian parliamentary election, 2025

Campaigning

Upper Egypt

While parliamentary elections in the major cities are often fixed by the ruling party, elections in Upper Egypt—the poorest and most underdeveloped part of the country where approximately 40% of Egypt's population live—are more free, with the ruling party "recruiting whoever happened to win." According to journalist Peter Hessler, neglect of Upper Egypt has also allowed the region to "devise indigenous campaign traditions".

Without parties or local media to promote issues or policies, campaigns consist primarily of evening house calls to potential voters by candidates with their entourage. Visits may last anywhere from only a minute to a half an hour. Candidates are served cigarettes, (non-alcoholic) drinks or sweets; The visits are not confined to a period before the election but often continue even when the parliament is cancelled and elections continually delayed.