Parliamentary elections in Egypt 1883

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The parliamentary election in Egypt in 1883 was a three-stage election, with only 13.3% of the population having the right to vote. The khedivat Egypt was formally under Turkish rule at this time , but unofficially under strong British influence .

Electoral system

The country's electoral system was created by Lord Dufferin , who "adopted the design of a pyramid". The first round of the election included the election of an “election delegate” (for whom there were no electoral criteria) in approximately 4,300 village constituencies. A total of 797,571 citizens were eligible to vote in the first round of voting. The delegates met in the provincial capitals to elect a provincial council. The 14 provincial councils then each elected one member to the legislative council.

Cairo was divided into twelve quarters, each of which elected a delegate, with 65,016 people eligible to vote. The twelve delegates then elected a single member of the Legislative Council. Alexandria was divided into four quarters, each in turn elected a delegate. Together with the individual delegates elected by Damietta , Port Said , Rosetta , Suez , El Arish and Ismailia , they elected a member of the Legislative Council.

Provincial Councils

The country had 14 provincial councils, each with three to eight members. Only delegates were allowed to be elected to the councils, with the additional criteria that candidates

  • had to be over 30 years old
  • were able to read and write
  • Paid at least £ 50 annual property tax

and

  • were neither a soldier nor an official.
province Registered voters electors Councils
Asyut 78,589 330 7th
Beheira 33,832 311 5
Beni Suef 20,965 200 4th
Dakahlia 80.132 451 6th
Eaneh 15,482 163 4th
Faiyum 30,265 90 3
Gallioubieh 25,032 164 4th
Gharbia 144,534 544 8th
Giza 42,073 202 4th
Girga 108.991 646 5
Minya 14,185 290 4th
Monufia 105,471 345 6th
Qena 26,620 114 4th
Sharqia 71,400 445 6th
total 797.571 4,295 70
Source: The Times

Legislative Council

The Legislative Council consisted of 30 members, 14 of whom were elected by provincial councils, 14 appointed by the Khedives on the advice of its ministers, one elected by the Cairo delegates , and one elected by delegates from the other seven cities. It met six times a year, beginning in February and then every other month.

General advice

A general council was also convened. This had 84 members made up of the eight ministers of the Khedive , the 30 members of the Legislative Council and another 46 members elected by voters from the village constituencies, major cities and towns. The same eligibility criterion for the provincial councils was applied to the members of the General Council, with the exception of the property tax requirement, which was reduced to £ 20 in Cairo and Alexandria and to zero for the rest of the country.

Additional members of the General Council by electoral district
Area Members
Cairo 4th
Alexandria 3
Damietta 1
Rosetta 1
Suez / Port Said 1
Ismailia / El Arish 1
Provinces of Lower Egypt 20th
Provinces of Upper Egypt 15th
total 46
Source: The Times

Individual evidence

  1. ^ D. Sternberger, B. Vogel, D. Nohlen, K. Landfried: The election of the parliaments. Volume II: Africa. First half volume, 1978, p. 293 German
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The New Egyptian Institutions. In: The Times. No. 30947, October 10, 1883, p. 8.