Socialist Party of Egypt

The Egyptian Socialist Party
El-Hizb El-Ishtraki El-Masri
Chairman Ahmed Bahaa El-Din Shaaban
Founder Samir Amin, Ahmed Bahaa El-Din Shaaban, Mamdouh Habashi and Eman Yehia
Founded June 18, 2011
Headquarters Cairo, Egypt
Ideology Democratic socialism
Communism
Political position Left-wing
National affiliation The Revolution Continues Alliance
Official colours Red
People's Assembly
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Politics of Egypt
Political parties
Elections

The Egyptian Socialist Party (El-Hizb El-Ishtiraki El-Masri) is a new political party in Egypt which was founded by some Egyptian socialists after the 2011 Egyptian revolution.[1]. The party was founded on June 18 at a conference attended by over 400 Egyptian & international socialists[2]. Members such as Karima El-Hefnawy and chairmman Ahmed Bahaa El-Din Shaaban were prominent leaders of the Kefaya movement[3].

Party member Mamdouh Habashi has stated that the Egyptian Socialist Party sees "the uprising of January 25 not as the revolution, but just the start of a new, long revolutionary tide"[4]

The party has a membership of over 1000[5], with branches established in cities such as Mansoura, Aswan and Luxor as well as Cairo and Alexandria[5].

In addition to involvement with the ongoing protests in Tahrir Square, members of the Egyptian Socialist Party are also involved with such issues as the rights of inhabitants of informal settlements in Cairo, and helped in organising protests and strikes amongst these communities in August 2011[5]. Other areas of work for party members include independent trade unions and environmental issues[5].

On 10 May 2011, the Egyptian Socialist Party agreed to enter into a Coalition of Socialist Forces with four other Egyptian leftist groups called, which includes the Revolutionary Socialists, the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, the Egyptian Communist Party and the Workers Democratic Party. For the 2011-2012 parliamentary election, the Egyptian Socialist Party joined the "Revolution Continues" alliance[6].

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