Electoral System Dysfunction: The Arab Republic of Egypt

Abstract

Elections are the cornerstone of democratic systems, but the form they take and their overall quality varies widely. In this paper, electoral systems and their formulae for deciding a victor are analyzed using the Arab Republic of Egypt as a case study. This manuscript explores how the differences in electoral formulae influence voting behavior and governmental longevity. An analysis is done through a qualitative and quantitative study of Egyptian elections, beginning with Anwar Al-Sadat in 1970 and ending with Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in 2018. We find that the Egyptian majoritarian system has not provided increased legitimacy, as suggested by the literature for a variety of reasons. This leads to further questions about the electoral formula in Egypt as well as the role of other institutions in the Egyptian political system.