Group+4.6+Wafd+(Egyptian+Political+Party)

= **Overview of the Wafd Party** = The Wafd Party of Egypt is known for being the strongest opposition party to the National Democratic Party, which has been the governing party in Egypt since 1978. The story of the Wafd Party can be told in two eras: Post World War I – 1952, where the Wafd Party went from being the strongest party in Egypt, (winning 90% of Egypt’s parliamentary seats in their first election in 1930) to dissolving after the 1952 Revolution. And 1983 – Present, where the Wafd Party re-emerged as a political opposition party. The Wafd party originated as a conservative party made up of wealthy landowners; however, due to its anti Great Britain and nationalist policies, the Wafd party also earned support from many urban, middle class people (Angrist). After a 31 year hiatus, the Wafd re-emerged after President Anwar Sadat adopted his “Infitah”, or "open door" policy. Sadat wished to begin Western and Arab investment in Egypt, and in order for Sadat to please Western leaders, such as the United States, Sadat would have to allow more political freedom in Egypt (Reid). = **Current Party Platform and Constituency** = The Wafd party’s platform consists of western democratic principles. Wafd party members wish to decentralize the political system and give more power to local governments. Other political issues that the Wafd party wishes to reform are: creating term limits for the presidency and eliminating restrictions on establishing new political parties. These issues developed over the 30 year rule of former president Hosni Mubarak. The Wafd party’s economic platform includes capitalistic beliefs. They promote neoliberal, free market principles, but also wish to protect laborers and unions. On social issues, the Wafd party takes an egalitarian position. The party supports equal rights for all cultural and religious sects, along with the increased involvement of women in society. The Wafd party, has mainly been a secular political party, which has attracted a diverse constituency. The majority of its supporters consist of the rural middle class, urban liberal professionals, lawyers, judges and members of the business community. However, recently, Wafd party members have decreased due to a controversial alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. This alliance contradicted the Wafd party’s secular belief, and many supporters joined the National Democratic Party.



**References**: "BBC ON THIS DAY | 7 | 1952: Egyptian Army Ousts Prime Minister." // BBC News - Home //. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. . Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "New Wafd Party – Egypt Elections." // Egypt Elections //. 29 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. . "New Wafd Party." // Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia //. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. . Reid, Donald M. "The Return of the Egyptian Wafd, 1978." // The International Journal of African Historical Studies //. Boston University African Studies Center. 390. Print.

Angrist, Michele P. "Party Systems and Regime Formation in the Modern Middle East: Explaining Turkish Exceptionalism." //Comparative Politics//. 2nd ed. Vol. 36. New York: Ph.D. Program in Political Science of the City University of New York, 2004. 236. Print.

-Scott Zolkowski

**// The Rise and Fall of the Wafd Party //**

__ Rise: __
==== The Wafd party did not begin immediately as a political party, but rose slowly as a delegation at first. It rose to power in 1919 during the aftermath of World War I in which the nationalist movement became prevalent in Egypt. The Protectorate over Egypt by the British was one of the major vehicles in the growth of the Wafd because it gave nationalist leaders the task of winning independence for Egypt. “The radical changes that took place, especially under British occupation, led to the adoption of nationalist aspirations and goals by the different socio-economic groups.” (Deeb) The quest for independence from Britain won the support of the non-Muslim groups, thus giving it a wider range of members. Large numbers of Egypt’s youth also were part of the movement and by creating a signature campaign to work toward Egyptian independence, brought in even more Egyptians to the Wafd. ====

__ Fall: __
==== The Wafd party dissolved in 1952 after not living up to the challenges and promises their leaders made to the people. The coup d’état of 1952 was a major factor in the disbandment of the Wafd because it caused the party to need to revise its programs, which exposed its weaknesses. The Free Officers group tried to assert authority over Egypt’s constitution and decided to crush the Wafd party. Many of the Wadfist politicians were then arrested and all political parties were ordered to reorganize themselves. It was thought that the party would “initiate a program of social and administrative reform and rise above the traditional political bickering that brought so many into the streets denouncing the political parties.”(Gordon) However, they were not able to fulfill those expectations for several reasons. One of the main reasons for the failure was conflict between groups within the party. When the major leaders were forced out of the Wafd, some formed other minority parties, causing further rifts within the group. Finally, “Egyptian political parties, including the Wafd, were disbanded and their funds were confiscated by the Cabinet decree of January 17, 1953.” (Quraishi) ==== ========

1. Deeb, Marius. Party Politics in Egypt: the Wafd & its Rivals 1919-39. London, 1979. Print.
==== 2. Gordon, Joel. The False Hopes of 1950: The Wafd’s Last Hurrah and the Demise of Egypts Old Order. International Journal of Middle East Studies. Vol. 21 (1989): 193-214. Web. 10 May. 2011. [ [] ] ====

--Emily Wieber
//The New Wafd Party//

__Background__ The New Wafd Party was established on February 4th, 1978, as an attempt to revive the legacy of the original 1919 Wafd Party. The New Wafd Party was just one of several political groups that emerged after the introduction of limited pluralism in the political process. Fouad Serageddin, secretary general of the pre-1952 Wafd, initially lead the party. The New Wafd has often been regarded as the strongest legal opposition party, due to its history and relatively large financial resources. However, for the last 20 years, the support that they had received from business elites and Coptic Christians has been dwindling and has shifted their support toward the National Democratic Party. The party had representation in the 1980’s, but boycotted several elections in the 1990’s. The rise of Islamic militants by the 2005 primary elections resulted in the Muslin Brotherhood becoming the main opposition group. The New Wafd Party is lacking major factors that were characteristic of the original Wafd Party: the lack of charismatic leadership, and according to critics, it has deviated from its liberal platform as a result of occasional alliances with Islamist political forces. In 2010, the New Waft Party implicated many changes that helped it return to the political scene. One of those changes was with the party’s internal presidential elections. Sayyid al-Badawi became the leader of the party and since then, popular Egyptian figures have joined the party ranks. The party is attempting to position itself as a third option for voters that are seeking an alternative to the National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood.

__Party Goals__ The New Wafd Party officials insist that its liberal democratic platform deals with contemporary issues despite its roots in pre-1952 Egyptian politics. Serageddin has repeatedly called for a new constitution, direct public voting in presidential elections, one term limitations, and greater powers granted to parliament regarding the monitoring of public expenditure. Their goals for political reform include protecting political freedoms and human rights, abolishing the emergency law, and consolidating democracy in trade unions. Economically speaking, the New Wafd Party’s goal is to stabilize economic legislation and the rationalization of public consumption. Socially they aim at curbing unemployment, solving the housing problem, modernizing agriculture, upgrading health services, and improving the status of education systems. (For more information on the political agenda and views of the New Wafd Party, [|click here])

__Current Party Leaders__ Sayed El-Badawi is the current chairman of the New Wafd Party. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour is the New Wafd Party’s secretary general.



__References:__ //Eqypt State Information Service//. N.p., n.d. //Google//. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. . Ibrahim, Ekram. "The Wafd Party." . N.p., 10 Nov. 2010. //Google//. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. . Hinnebusch, Raymond A. "The Reemergence of the Wafd Party: Glimpses of the Liberal Opposition in Egypt." //International Journal of Middle East Studies// 16.1 Mar. (1984): 99-121. //JSTOR//. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. Images found through Google Images Quraishi, Z M. //The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia//. 6th ed. 2007. N. pag. //Infoplease//. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. . Ashley Vance

**__ Important Leaders of the Wafd Party __**

__Saad Zaghloul__ //“Truth above power, and the nation above government”// -Saad Zaghloul



Saad Zaghloul was born in 1859 in the village of Ibyana in the [|Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate] of Egypt's [|Nile Delta]. After attending university in Cairo and later practicing law Zaghloul became active in political movements in Egypt. In 1918 Zaghloul began a delegation that proposed Egypt’s independence from Britain. He was exiled to Malta and then to Seychelles with three other members of the Wafd in 1919. When Zaghloul returned in 1920 he was welcomed as a national hero. Zaghloul became the first popularly voted Prime minister in January 1924 after the Wafd party won ninety percent of the parliament seats through the elections. His reign only lasted a few months as he was forced to resign in November when the British commander in chief over the Egyptian army was killed. Saad Zaghloul died on August 23, 1927. A mausoleum (seen below) was built for Zaghloul after his passing.



__Sayyid al-Badawi__



Sayyid al-Badawi was born in 1950 in Tanta, Egypt and is currently the President of the New Wafd party. He attended the University of Alexandria (also known as Cairo University), where he studied Pharmacy. Additionally, al-Badawi serves as the head of the Board of Directors for the Egyptian television network, //Al-Hayah// and a co-owner of the daily newspaper //al-Dostour//. In May 2010, the businessman was elected the party’s leader in a unanimous vote. After being elected al-Badawi stated he would resign from his position as chairman, if after eighteen months he was unable to politically restore the Wafd party. He has already taken action to revitalize the party by engaging many important public figures to join the party, and increasing the number of members.

__See Also__ [|Interview with Sayyid al-Badawi]

__References__ Coury, Ralph M. . "The Politics of the Funereal: The Tomb of Saad Zaghlul." //Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt// 29 (1992): 196. //JSTOR//. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. "El-Sayyid el-Badawi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. . Iskandar, Adel. "Egypt's Media Deficit." //Georgetown Journal of International Affairs// 7 (2006): n. pag. //Georgetown Journal of International Affairs//. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. "Profile of Sayyid al-Badawi." //Carnegie's Guide to Egypt's Elections//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. . "Saad Zaghloul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. .

Courtney Vannatter