Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt on 3 July 1957, having originally been scheduled for November 1956, but postponed due to the Suez Crisis.[1] They were the first elections since the 1952 revolution, which saw King Farouk overthrown, the Republic of Egypt established and the approval of a new constitution in a June 1956 referendum.
A new electoral law was approved on 10 March 1957, which required all candidates to be members of the National Union,[2] although nearly 50% of candidates were rejected by army officials for being "undesirable" or "unworthy".[1] They were also the first elections in Egypt in which women had the right to vote or stand for election.[3] Despite only six women contesting the election out of a total of over 2,000 candidates, and 70% of Egyptian men being against their presence in parliament,[4]Rawya Ateya and Amina Shukri were elected, becoming the first women parliamentarians in the Arab world.[3][5]
Following its election, the 350-member National Assembly was seated on 22 July.[6] However, it had little power, with its votes against government policy being ignored by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.[1] The Assembly was dissolved on 10 February 1958 following Egypt and Syria merging to form of the United Arab Republic, and the establishment of a joint National Assembly with 400 members from Egypt and 200 from Syria.[6]
^Magdi, Ne'maat (25 August 2009). راوية عطية: أول نائبة مصرية بعد الثورة [Rawya Ateya: the First Egyptian Female Deputy After the Revolution]. Al Rai. The Parliament of Women (in Arabic). No. 11012. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
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