Egyptian Presidential Election, 2005 - 2005 Presidential Election Process

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, 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 has not backed 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, 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.