The Socialist Popular Alliance Party withdrew from Egypt’s 2025 House of Representatives race protesting what it called exclusionary measures after the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the disqualification of two of its candidates.
The party said in a statement on Friday evening that it is pulling out over “widespread violations” that marred the process, describing “clear restrictions” on opposition and independent participation and a “lack of equal opportunity.”
Party leader Medhat El Zahed told Al Manassa the decision covers all its candidates, including Zohdy Alshamy, whose papers were accepted in the Damanhour district. The party is weighing possible legal action to defend the integrity and standing of its excluded candidates, according to El Zahed.
In recent days, the National Election Authority excluded former lawmaker Haitham Elhariri, who was slated to run in Alexandria’s Moharram Bey district, on the grounds that he received an “exemption” from military service by way of administrative exception rather than a formal legal waiver. The NEA also excluded Mohamed Abdel Halim, the party’s candidate in Mansoura, citing a failed drug test.
“Haitham ran in 2015 and 2020 under the same conditions and became a member in the first term. What’s changed now?” El Zahed told Al Manassa commenting on Elhariri’s exclusion. He argued that expanding the use of this legal basis would “open the door to broad political exclusion for anyone who received an administrative exception from military service against their will.”
El Zahed called the decisions “a restriction of the opposition,” adding, “The harassment is very clear, and so is the curbing of opponents and their role in participation. What happened to Haitham will not be an isolated case; it can be repeated.”
“When this decision is applied,” he continued, “it means all those excepted from military service by an administrative order against their will, without any moral misconduct, could be excluded. This reflects political isolation that restricts participation rights and contradicts the Egyptian constitution.”
Zohdy Alshamy, chair of the party’s board of trustees and its candidate in Damanhour, confirmed he is withdrawing in line with the party decision. Continuing to run “is no longer possible under the current exclusionary climate,” he told Al Manassa.
In a Facebook post, Alshamy wrote that “it is no secret that the exclusions reflect a clear intent to sideline serious, principled opposition voices, sending a negative signal about an election in which the authorities have secured most seats before it even begins. We had hoped for a real margin that would allow the national opposition to express itself inside parliament.”
According to law, the House of Representatives has 568 elected members—284 by single-member districts and 284 by closed lists—with the president appointing up to 5% (28 members), bringing the total to 596.
