Egypt has had differing multi-party systems over the last century and a half, with a hiatus between 1953 and 1977, after which the current party law was enacted. Nevertheless, in practice the National Democratic Party was the long-time ruling party and dominated the Egyptian political arena, first under president Anwar Sadat, and then president Hosni Mubarak from its foundation in 1978, up until its dissolution in the wake of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, and the ousting of Mubarak. Under Mubarak, opposition parties were allowed, but were widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. On 28 March 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces amended Political Party Law 40/1977, easing restrictions on the legal establishment of new political parties in Egypt, where many new parties covering the political spectrum were formed. After the 2013 popular coup/revolution, and a further seismic political shift, another wave of new parties were formed, a large number of which were aligned with current non-partisan president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In December 2020, final results of the parliamentary election confirmed a clear majority of the pro-Sisi Mostaqbal Watan (Nation’s Future) Party.

Restricted partisan pluralism (1977 – 25 January 2011)

Under the new Infitah (liberal realignment) of president Anwar Sadat, and in the aftermath of the 1973 October War and the peace process with Israel, Sadat’s decree in March 1976 founded a three-party platform within the framework of the Arab Socialist Union, representing the right, the center and the left, before spinning them off on 22 November of the same year into political parties. These three parties, were the first nucleus of the restricted partisan pluralism allowed by the Political Parties Law 40/1977: Parties established by judicial rulings (11):

Post-2011 revolution (2011–2013)

In the wake of the January 2011 uprising in Egypt, the deposition of Hosni Mubarak and dissolution of his National Democratic Party that ruled for over three decades, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued a decree-law 12/2011 amending certain provisions of the Political Parties Law 40/1977, after which many parties were formed. The legislation was however criticized as discriminatory. Under the law new parties are now required to have at least 5,000 members from at least ten of Egypt's provinces. Originally, new parties were only required to have 1,000 members. This was cited as a barrier for new parties before parliamentary elections which took place at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012. Also, new party leaders are required to raise at least LE1 million to publish the names of the founding members in two widely circulated dailies, seen as favoring wealthier interests. No parties are able to form on the basis of religion or class, ruling out the formation of Islamic and labor parties. However, in practice, religious parties have been allowed. After first being denied a license by the political parties commission, the Supreme Administrative Court allowed Gamaa Islamiya to form the Building and Development Party. The political parties commission allowed the Al Nour Party to be approved in May 2011, in part because it does not refer to the hudud in their electoral program. An article on the Daily News Egypt website states that religious parties have gone around the ban by not explicitly advocating a state based on Islam in their political programs.

Post-2013 popular coup/revolution (2013–present)

On July 3, 2013, president Mohamed Morsi, the leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) was removed from power in the aftermath of the June 30 popular coup/revolution, which later resulted in a new (2014) constitution banning parties based on religion, effectively dissolving the dominant FJP. In June 2014, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became Egypt's first president not affiliated with a political party. However, a number of pro-Sisi parties have since formed, and by 2018, 104 political parties were officially registered and approved by the Committee of Parties.

List of currently active parties

Egyptian politics are subject to unique circumstances and often defy simple classification in terms of the political spectrum. Currently, over 100 registered political parties in Egypt exist. Groups are sometimes associated with the political left or right, especially in international circles, according to their stance on issues. While the current Egyptian constitution prohibits the formation of political parties based on religion, there are parties that seek to establish Islamic sharia laws, or uphold the article in the constitution that states that sharia law is the main source of legislation, and others that support the formation of a secular state. The following is a categorization of political parties based on their social, economical, and political orientation, as well as their legal status:

Parties represented in the House of Representatives or the Senate

Non-represented parties

Active Egyptian political alliances

Inactive Egyptian political alliances