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Egypt Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on Egypt
Official Name: Arab Republic of Egypt
Capital: Cairo
Area: 1,001,450 square kilometres (386,662 square miles)
Major cities (Population)
Cairo 6,900,000 (1995)
Alexandria 3,577,000 (1995 estimate)
Giza 2,144,000 (1992 estimate)
Port Said 460,000 (1992)
Suez 388,000 (1992 estimate)
Population: 62,931,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: 2.2 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Republic
Independence: 28 February 1922 (from the United Kingdom)
Constitution: 11 September 1971
Voting Rights: Universal and compulsory at age 18
Government
The 444 directly elected members of the People’s Assembly, along with 10 members appointed by the president, nominate the president, who is then elected by referendum for a six-year term. The president has executive power and is assisted by a prime minister and a cabinet. A 210-member Magles El Shura council that is partly elected and partly appointed acts as a consultative body. Egypt is divided into 26 administrative zones.
Recent History
Egyptian society has become increasingly divided by the debate about whether the country should become an Islamic state or remain a secular state in which multiculturalism, a free press, and diversity are tolerated. Radical Islamic fundamentalists have resorted to violence to further their aims, while the authorities have in turn been accused of abuses of human rights in actions taken against them.
In 1981 the Egyptian president Anwar el-Sadat was assassinated by Muslim fundamentalists who disagreed with his policies. He was succeeded by former Vice President Hosni Mubarak, who introduced greater democracy and established himself as an important leader of moderate Arab nations. Although re-elected in 1987 and 1993, Mubarak has faced strong and increasingly violent opposition from fundamentalists who want Egypt to become an Islamic state. In June 1995 an assassination attempt was made against Mubarak while he was travelling to an Organization of African Unity (OAU) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Two separate Egyptian Islamic groups claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt: the Islamic Group and the Vanguards of Conquest. Since then, there have been two terrorist attacks against Egyptian targets abroad. On 19 November 1995 a suicide bomber attacked the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 16 people. Earlier in the month, on 13 November, an Egyptian diplomat was shot and killed in Geneva, Switzerland. In both cases, Islamic militants claimed responsibility.
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