Pro-government Humat Al-Watan (Homeland Defenders) party has been engulfed by a bribery scandal, with allegations that parliamentary seats were sold for tens of millions of Egyptian pounds. The revelations have triggered a wave of resignations and outrage from members who say years of dedicated work have been dismissed in favor of cash and political cache.
The controversy erupted on Saturday when party member Hanan Sharshar released a video claiming she had been asked to pay between 25 and 50 million pounds to secure a parliamentary nomination. “You work for years, serve the people, and then they tell you: How much will you pay? It’s an auction,” she said.
Sharshar accused the party's secretary for its Giza branch, Nafaa Abdelhady, of making the demand, adding that parachuted candidates must be paying even more.
Local branches walk-out
The fallout was immediate. Mohamed Abdullah Saoudi, head of the South Giza district, and secretary of the Badrshein Center, submitted a collective resignation on behalf of the entire Badrshein party office. In a letter to acting party chair General Ahmed El-Awady and senior leaders, Saoudi said the party had betrayed its members.
“What we have seen—the disregard for merit and dedication, and the prioritization of money over competence—was a devastating blow to us and to the people of Badrshein,” he wrote. Saoudi said his team had worked tirelessly since 2017, only to see an outsider imposed as a candidate with no ties to the district.
He concluded that the party had “lost its popular base” and was sacrificing members’ loyalty for short-term deals that serve neither the party nor the country.
Rifts widen
Resignations spread beyond Giza. In Belqas, Dakahliya Governorate, local party secretary Mohamed Gameel Serageldin and several senior officials also resigned.
In his letter, Serageldin accused the party of abandoning its mission. “We worked hard to change how parties are perceived on Egypt’s streets and to serve the community. But what we saw in the end was disheartening,” he wrote.
By Sunday, Shershar sought to contain the fallout. In a new statement, she affirmed her loyalty to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and said her criticism was directed solely at Abdel Hady, not at the party or the state. “I did not resign,” she said. “I trust this party. It gives people their rights.” She ended with the chant “Long live Egypt.”
Al Manassa attempted to reach Abdelhady and party spokesperson Amr Suleiman but received no response.
In the 2025 Egyptian Senate elections, the Homeland Defenders Party demonstrated notable electoral strength, securing 44 seats and emerging as the second-largest bloc after the dominant Nation’s Future Party.
The party that was established in 2013 by Galal Haridy, a retired military officer, along with a group of former army personnel, positions itself as centrist and has consistently aligned with Egypt’s ruling establishment.
In Egypt’s 2021 House of Representatives elections, the Homeland Defenders Party secured 23 seats.
The bribery scandal breaks just months before parliamentary elections, scheduled before the end of the year. Article 106 of the Constitution requires voting to take place within 60 days before the current parliament’s term ends on Jan. 12, 2026.
