| Egypt |
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Government
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Judiciary
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Elections
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Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt on 3 July 1957, having originally been scheduled for November 1956, but postponed due to the Suez Crisis.[1] The first since the 1952 revolution, which saw King Farouk overthrown, and the approval of a new constitution in a referendum in June 1956, the election was carried out on a non-partisan basis,[2] although nearly 50% of candidates were rejected by army officials for being "undesirable" or "unworthy".[1] They were also the first elections in Egypt in which women had the right to vote or stand for election.[3] Despite only six women contesting the election out of a total of over 2,000 candidates, and 70% of Egyptian men being against their presence in parliament,[4] Rawya Ateya and Amina Shukri were elected, becoming the first women parliamentarians in the Arab World.[3][5]
Following its election, the 350-member National Assembly was seated on 22 July.[6] However, it had little power, with its votes against government policy being ignored by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.[1] The Assembly was dissolved on 10 February 1958 following Egypt and Syria merging to form of the United Arab Republic, and the establishment of a joint National Assembly with 400 members from Egypt and 200 from Syria.[6]
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