The Reform and Development Party ( ar, حزب الأصلاح و التنمية ''Hizb Al-Islah wa Al-Tanmiyah'') is a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 Mediter ...

History and profile

The Reform and Development Party was founded in 2009. The founders of the party are

Mohamed Anwar Esmat Sadat Mohamed Anwar Esmat Sadat (محمد أنور عصمت السادات; born 1955) is an Egyptian politician. He was a member of the Egyptian Parliament during the rule of Hosni Mubarak. He is related to two prominent Egyptian politicians, as the ...

, the ex-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 ...

's nephew, and the Egyptian billionaire

Raymond Lakah Raymond Lakah, (born c. 1960 as Rami Lakah) (رامي لكح), is a French people, French-Egyptians, Egyptian Business magnate, magnate, and former owner of the French newspaper ''France Soir''. Lakah was born in Egypt to a Coptic Orthodox Chu ...

. The initial license application of the party was rejected in July 2010. It was legalized in May 2011, just after the Egypt's

25 January Revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

in 2011. The party participated in the

2011–12 Egyptian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt from 28 November 2011 to 11 January 2012, following the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, after which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) dissolved Parliament. However the dis ...

and won 9 seats in the lower house. The party merged with the Misruna party (Our Egypt party) in June 2011; the party name changed slightly. Although the Reform and Development Party participated in the 2015 parliamentary elections, Sadat criticized the election process, which was delayed for 7 months, as well as the Supreme Constitutional Court being allowed to rule on complaints against election laws. The party has gradually distanced itself from president

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

, and Sadat briefly ran in the

2018 Egyptian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Egypt between 26 and 28 March 2018, though Egyptians abroad voted from 16 to 18 March 2018. On 19 January, incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi formally announced he would run for a second and final term. ...

, though he withdrew. Sadat criticized the pro-Sisi "Alashan Tbneeha" (To Build It) campaign on constitutional grounds for allowing government employees to publicly support the campaign. Supporters of his own campaign, "Benhab al-Sadat" (We Love al-Sadat), have been harassed by the government.

References

External links

Official website
Political parties established in 2009 Liberal parties in Egypt 2009 establishments in Egypt {{Africa-party-stub