Political Parties, Lists and Things It Would Be Nice to Know About the Upcoming Egyptian Parliamentary Elections

Dear readers
A reader has made the excellent request that I try to assemble information about all parties and lists in one page. This page will be a running assessment of the state of political life in Egypt as the parliamentary elections approach. I will try to update it as frequently as possible. This information may be available in one place at the Higher Elections Commission. However, it is all in Arabic. So I am creating a database from the Egyptian press. I am reading the English press, and my students the Arabic Press.
When will the elections be held?
Parliamentary elections are scheduled to start on November 28th, 2011.
How many political parties are there in Egypt?
47 political parties, most of which were formed after the January 25th Revolution, will compete in the parliamentary elections.
How many electoral districts are there in Egypt?
I am not sure about this, but I think there are 67, because the MB is running for all districts, and they are competing in 67 districts.
What are the main Alliances?
There are four main electoral blocs, which span the political spectrum. Although Egypt does have a left, I believe it is inaccurate, in my view, to say it has a "right," as that concept is understood in Europe. It has a secular side and a more fundamentalist religious side.
Egyptian Bloc: Free Egyptians (Free Enterprise), Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Tagmmu Party (old school leftist)
The Revolution Continues: Socialist Popular Alliance Party, Egyptian Socialist Party, Egypt Freedom, Equality and Development, Egyptian Current, Revolution Youth Coalition
Democratic Alliance: (12 parties) Muslim Brotherhood, Ghad Party, Al-Karama (Nasserist)
Islamist Alliance: Nour Party (Salafis), Asala, the Salafist Current, the Construction and Development Party (Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya)
What seats are the blocs running for?
The Egyptian Bloc will run 233 candidates in unified electoral lists, to contest seats in 64 electoral districts. 10 % Tagammu, 40% SDP, 50 % Free Egyptians.
The Islamist Alliance will be running on unified lists in all electoral districts across the countries. Seats will be divided based on the relative political weight of each party, and how much it contributes to the success of the overall list.
The Revolution Continues will field 300 candidates in 34 electoral districts. 250 candidates will run on unified electoral lists, and 34 for the people's assembly will run on independent seats, and 26 for the Shura Council will run independently.
The Democratic Alliance will field 498 candidates and is competing in 67 electoral districts around the country. FJP candidates make up 70 percents of the slots on the unified lists. FJP candidates make up 90 percent of the candidates for the independent seats.
What are some of the other parties in Egypt?
Unity Party (Hossam Badrawy/NDP)
Wafd (liberal/NDP)
Wasat (Islamist)
Egyptian Communist Party (not running/boycotting)
Egypt Above All Coalition (Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi)
El Adl (liberal/free enterprise)
Which parties represent women and Copts and young people?
The RCA has 100 candidates under 40. The RCA has two women at the top of its lists, including Mervat Said Hanafi in Helwan.
The SDP and Socialist Coalition also have platforms strongly supportive of women and religious freedom.
The Free Egyptians and the SDP have sizable Copt participation, but are secular parties
Will Expatriates be Allowed to Vote?
Maybe. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf held a meeting this weekend (November 10, 2011) with several cabinet members to discuss whether expatriates can vote. They may be allowed to vote in Egyptian embassies abroad.
Who Can Monitor Elections?
Only Egyptians can monitor elections. International election monitors will not be allowed. The Egyptian Council for Human Rights has received 7168 requests from NGOs to monitor elections.
Okay, I will update this as time allows. ~WMB