Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Founded by
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
laureate Mohammad ElBaradei in 2012, it aims to protect and promote the principles and objectives of the
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...
The party was launched on 28 April 2012 by Mohammad ElBaradei and a group of Egyptian intellectuals and activists. ElBaradei described that the aim of the party was "to save the great 25 January revolution, which has been derailed and is almost aborted, and to restore our unity." The party was seen as a moderate force to counter emerging Islamist gains. ElBaradei said that he intended to increase the party's base for the next election in four years time. The party aims to unite all Egyptians, regardless of creed or ideology, behind democracy.
ElBaradei hoped the party would attract, in particular, the young people who were behind the uprising that toppled President Mubarak. The Constitution Party has attracted a youthful membership, with over 85% of its membership being under the age of 35. Youth leaders of the Constitution Party have at times expressed differences with party leadership, contributing to the internal dynamics influencing the party's development.
The Constitution Party supported the Tamarod movement and the removal of President
Mohamed Morsi
Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012Adly Mansour but resigned one month later, in August 2013, over the use of violence against pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters. The resignation led to distancing between the Constitution Party and the party founder. A number of Constitution leaders resigned from the party after ElBaradei's resignation from the interim vice presidency. ElBaradei is no longer involved with the party though he was named honorary president of the party on 22 February 2014.
The former spokesman of the party, Khaled Dawoud, was stabbed on 4 October 2013. A day later his condition had improved.
The party announced an official neutral position on the January 2014 constitutional referendum but strongly encouraged Egyptians to participate.
Hala Shukrallah was elected to lead the Constitution Party in February 2014, becoming both the first woman and first Christian to lead a major Egyptian party.
The party endorsed Hamdeen Sabahi in the 2014 presidential election.
Platform
The Constitution Party "aims to build a new Egypt based on democratic governance, education, competence, experience and the rule of law." Respect for human rights, advancing the Egyptian economy, providing for the basic needs of citizens, and advancing social equality are among the party's primary goals. The principles of the party are summarized in its slogan, "Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice."
Principles of the Party
*Citizenship and wise governance.
*The State's role in economic development.
*The State's responsibility for social justice.
*Peaceful Political Activism.
*Self-reliance, Preservation of identity and openness to the world.
List of political parties in Egypt
Egypt has had differing multi-party systems since independence, with a hiatus between 1953 and 1977, after which the current party law was enacted. Nevertheless, in practice the National Democratic Party (Egypt), National Democratic Party was t ...