Presidential elections were held in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

on September 7, 2005, the first to feature more than one candidate. Incumbent president

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...

was re-elected for a fifth consecutive six-year term in office, with official results showing he won 88.6% of the vote. Mubarak's main opponent,

Ayman Nour Ayman Abd El Aziz Nour ( arz, أيمن عبد العزيز نور, ; born 5 December 1964) is an Egyptian politician, a former member of the Egyptian Parliament, founder and chairman of the El Ghad party. Nour was the first man to ever compet ...

, of the

Tomorrow Party The el-Ghad Party ( ar, حزب الغد ', ; "The Tomorrow Party") is an active political party in Egypt that was granted license in October 2004. El-Ghad is a centrist liberal secular political party pressing for widening the scope of politi ...

, is estimated to have received 7.3% of the vote and Numan Gumaa received 2.8%, however, Nour claimed that prior polling results showed over 30%. Criticism of the election process has centred on the process of selecting the eligible candidates, and on alleged election-law violations during voting. Mubarak was sworn in for his new term on September 27.

Candidates

The election was the first-ever

multi-party In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coa ...

election in the history of Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule. Ten parties were set to take part; the leading candidates were: *

of the National Democratic Party * Numan Gumaa of the

New Wafd Party The New Wafd Party ( ar, حزب الوفد الجديد, , New Delegation Party), officially the Egyptian Wafd Party and also known as the Al-Wafd Party, is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt. It is the extension of one of the oldest and his ...

of the

Also contending were: * Osama Shaltut of the Solidarity Party * Ibrahim Turk of the Democratic Union Party * Ahmad al-Sabahi of the Umma Party * Rifaat al-Agrudi of the

National Conciliation Party The National Coalition Party ( es, Partido de Concertación Nacional, PCN) is a nationalist political party in El Salvador. Until 2011 it was known as the National Conciliation Party ( es, Partido de Conciliación Nacional, PCN). It was the most ...

Fawzi Ghaza Fawzi, Faouzi, Fawzy or Fevzi (in Arabic فوزي) is an Arabic and Turkish name and surname meaning "triumph". Notable people with the name include: Given name Fawzi *Ali Fawzi Rebaine (born 1955), the leader of the Ahd 54 political party in Alg ...

of the

Egypt 2000 Party The Egypt 2000 Party is a small Egyptian political party with a membership of around 165 members. The party nominated its head Dr. Fawzy Khalil Ghazal to run for Egypt's Egyptian presidential election, 2005, first ever multi-candidate presidentia ...

* Mamduh Qinawi of the Constitutional Party * Wahid al-Uqsuri of the

Egyptian Arab Socialist Party The Egypt Arab Socialist Party ( ar, حزب مصر العربي الاشتراكي , rtl=yes ) is a political party in Egypt. History and profile The party was established in 1976 and its head was Mamdouh Salem. He served as the prime minister o ...

(disqualified on September 3)

Change from referendum on Mubarak's rule

Until recently, Egyptians had only been able to approve or reject a candidate appointed by

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, which is dominated by Hosni Mubarak's

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

. Mubarak had been re-elected four times during his 24-year rule by such a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. Mubarak won the 1999 referendum with almost 94% of the vote, though turnout was probably around 10%. Under

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

pressure, Egypt agreed to allow multi-party elections for the first time. A constitutional amendment approved in a referendum in May 2005 opened the way for multi-candidate presidential elections.

2005 presidential election process

Under Egyptian election law, all Egyptians over age eighteen are required to vote. However, out of a population of approximately 77,500,000 (the largest in the Arab world), only about 32 million voters were registered (approximately 40% of the total population). Under the election law, parties proposed candidates for the election, which were reviewed by the Presidential Election Commission. Of the 30 proposed candidates, only 10 were allowed to participate in the presidential election by the Presidential Election Commission. One prominent candidate not allowed to run was Talaat Sadat, the nephew of former President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

, who appealed his disqualification unsuccessfully. Egypt's largest Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, was not permitted to field a candidate for the election because the organization is banned by the government, which prohibits political parties with a stated religious agenda. The Brotherhood did not back any of the other candidates, but they encouraged Egyptians to go to the polls and vote for anyone other than Mubarak. The election campaign kicked off on August 17, 2005, and lasted until September 4, 2005. While many believed Hosni Mubarak's re-election a foregone conclusion, he campaigned seriously, trying to win votes across Egypt. 9,865 polling places were open until 10:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 7, so that voters could cast their ballots. Full results were not expected until at least Thursday September 8. The election was overseen by Egyptian judges. No international monitors were allowed to oversee the election. According to a late August report by the

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, media coverage was biased in favour of Hosni Mubarak. If no candidate had received 50% of the vote, the top two candidates would have contested a second election scheduled for September 17.

Criticisms of the 2005 presidential election arrangements

Some of the main legal opposition parties, including the leftist Tagammu Party and the Nasserist Party, boycotted the election, saying it was unlikely to be free or fair. Those opposing the election said the electoral reforms had not gone far enough because the election regulations severely restricted independent candidates and overwhelmingly favoured the NDP. Secondly, the Muslim Brotherhood, believed to be the most popular opposition group in Egypt, was excluded from running in the elections because Mubarak's government had made it officially illegal and barred from major political processes. Supporters of the Brotherhood and other opposition parties stated that this undermined the credibility of the election. In addition, there appeared to be official harassment of the leading opposition candidate Nour, who was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and arrested in January 2005, on what many observers regarded as trumped-up charges. He was imprisoned for a short time that year before public and international outcry resulted in his release before trial. The

and the Tomorrow (Ghad) Party contested the election even though they had opposed the May 2005 constitutional referendum, and their respective candidates, Numan Gumaa and

, drew significant support—Nour won 12% and Gumaa won 5-7%.

Conduct

At 10:00 a.m. on September 7, two hours after the start of the election, Egypt's Presidential Election Commission unexpectedly stated that it would allow

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.monitor the election. However, in many cases they were not allowed into polling places and were beaten and interrogated, especially in Southern Egypt. These citizen monitors were in addition to the Egyptian judges who have been allowed to independently monitor the elections. Allegations of election law violations surfaced during the voting. News media reported that Mubarak's National Democratic Party transported voters to the polls by bus, and allegedly did not allow voters to mark their choices behind a curtain, an essential requirement of a secret ballot.

Polling station A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building

s in Cairo were plastered with Mubarak posters and members of the NDP hovered over voters, taking ballots from voters and handing them to polling station officials.

of the

, one of the most prominent opposition candidates, along with others, has accused the government of not using truly indelible ink on the hands of voters, allowing voters favoring

to remove stamps indicating they had voted and return to vote again. Indelible ink was used only in major boxes, while non-permanent ink was used in many other boxes. There were rumors of certain voters that had no ink at all which would make voter fraud even less difficult. Nour also alleged that there was widespread vote-buying, a charge supported by the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, though not otherwise corroborated. The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, while supporting Nour's claims, has stated that the irregularities were insufficient to require a rerun of the election.

Results

The Mubarak government initially stated that turnout was high, though numbers varied. Surprisingly, on September 9, the government released results and turnout figures that were low and may have been accurate, as low in some places as 19%. On September 8, however, an election official and Mubarak's campaign both stated that it was around 30%. Both on election day and afterwards, election monitoring groups stated that turnout was low, reportedly because ordinary Egyptians thought the outcome a foregone conclusion. On September 8, anonymous sources stated turnout in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, the second-largest city in

, was 17%, and turnout in

Ismaïlia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

(a city of about 750,000) was about 24%, with Mubarak taking more than 80% of the vote. Wael Namara, a spokesman for

of the

, estimated turnout to be between 10 and 15% in the countryside and from 3 to 5% in the cities. In previous elections, voter turnout has run at less than 10 percent. Voter turnout in the May 2005 referendum that allowed the presidential election was officially reported as 54%, but judges monitoring the elections said it was more like 3%. Media reports on September 8, based on anonymous statements from election commission officials, stated that preliminary results showed President

winning 78% - 80% of the vote and

winning 12%. Gumaa was reported as receiving 5-7%. Late reports from September 8 placed Mubarak's numbers at approximately 72%, based once again on anonymous sources. The official result, that Mubarak won the election with 88.6% of the vote, was announced on September 9, 2005. Detailed results, with results and voting breakdowns by province for 15 of the 26 provinces (not including the largest provinces), were published in Al-Ahram, a state newspaper.
The same source states that Nour won 6.2% in the 15 provinces, 20% in the Nile delta province of Buheira, and 16% in Alexandria.

Aftermath

Nour demands rerun

Following widespread reports of election law violations, Nour immediately demanded a rerun of the election. However, the Election Commission (Egypt), Presidential Election Commission rejected his request as baseless on September 8, 2005, a decision that cannot be appealed. Nour's campaign manager, Wael Nawara, noted the Nour camp's surprise that the Presidential Election Commission would reject Nour's claims "despite the coverage from the media and the repetitive nature of these complaints."

International reactions

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince

Saud al-Faisal The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and ...

stated that the elections show that Mubarak has democratic intentions and that elections can take place there without harming stability: "The poll that took place in Egypt refutes the case made by those who claim Egypt is unstable and question its march toward the future."

State Department spokesman

Sean McCormack Sean McCormack (born 1964) is a former United States Assistant Secretary of State. He was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Department Spokesman on June 2, 2005, and served until January 20, 2009. McCormack is curre ...

said that the United States saw this election as a "historic departure" and the debate during the election process would "enrich the Egyptian political dialogue, certainly for years to come." McCormack also stated that "the Egyptian security services showed discipline in ensuring safety and security" and praised the "relative calm" of Election Day. However, McCormack criticized the lack of international monitors and the late decision to allow monitors, as well as the lack of media access that prevented opposition candidates from getting their message out. As for election day itself, he stated that "there were reports of some irregularities at polling places in terms of campaign posters or t-shirts being seen at the actual polling place and a variety of other issues." The United States expressed its hope that "the Egyptian Government and the Egyptian people can build upon this positive first step in holding this multi-candidate presidential election and build on the positive experiences, the positive actions in this election, as they look towards parliamentary elections in the fall time and look to addressing some of those issues that I mentioned that were less positive."

Protests by Kefaya movement

On September 7, men in plainclothes broke up a

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

protest by the Kefaya movement calling for Egyptians to boycott the elections, beating some of the protesters. Media sources state that as many as three thousand Kifaya protesters illegally marched on central Cairo, possibly the largest crowd ever drawn by that protest movement, while armed soldiers and police watched.

More protests

A larger protest of around 10,000 people was organized by Kifaya on September 10, 2005, to contest the election results and the mass rigging activities and cheating that occurred on the election day. It was reported by independent observers, reporters and candidate representatives that the NDP (Mubarak's Party) used government resources to change the election results. In some cases, citizens were beaten or forced to vote for Mubarak. In other cases, the boxes were already filled with marked ballots. However, the most explicit action that provoked the protest was allowing pro-Mubarak voters only to vote without being previously registered in the voter lists, giving Mubarak between 20 and 30 extra illegal points in the results.Bot generated title -->
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References

External links

BBC: Guide to Egypt's electionBBC: Egypt votes in landmark electionIFEX: Election coverage favours Mubarak
{{Egyptian elections

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Presidential election Presidential elections in Egypt