Watani Party

Watani Party
ﺍﻟﺤﺰﺐ ﺍﻟﻮﻃﻨﻲ
al-Ḥizb al-Waṭanī
Historical leaders Mustafa Kamil Pasha
(1895–1908)
Mohammad Farid
(1908–1919)
Founded 1895 (1895)
Dissolved July 23, 1952 (1952-07-23)
Headquarters Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt
Ideology Egyptian nationalism
Anti-imperialism
Anglophobia
Political position Right-wing
International affiliation None
Colours      Green

The Watani Party ("National Party", Arabic: ﺍﻟﺤﺰﺐ ﺍﻟﻮﻃﻨﻲ, al-Ḥizb al-Waṭanī) was a nationalist political party in Egypt.

Founded as political movement in 1895, the Watani was led by Mustafa Kamil Pasha, a journalist from France settled in Alexandria. The Watany platform was composed mainly by the city bourgeoisie, monarchy's sympathizers and also by the Khedive Abbas II, a note anglophobe.[1] The party also published a newspaper from 1900, al-Liwa ("The Flag"), with clear anti-British's views. In the same year, Abdul Hamid II nominated Mustafa Kamil as pasha for his support to the Ottoman Empire. Its anti-British positions increased after the Denshawai Incident in 1906.

The Watani became officially a party on 22 October 1907, after the first Congress of Watani. During the Congress, Mustafa Kamil supported the constitutional monarchy's idea. Owever, Kamil died two months only after the Congress, and the Watani was heired by Mohammad Farid. Under Farid's leadership, the party supported the monarchy, law and order policies and statism,[2] especially after the Prime Minister Boutros Ghali's assassination in 1910. Ironically, the Ghali's assassin was a Watani's sympathizer.

When the World War I ended and Farid died in 1919, the party began its decline. Mohammad Hafiz Ramadan Bey led the Watani and started a pro-Wafd politics, that became the first political party in Egypt. The Watani didn't win many seats in the elections, and after the coup d'état of 1952, the party was banned.

Electoral results

House of Representatives
Election year # of
overall votes
% of
overall vote
# of
overall seats won
+/– Leader
1926 unknown (#4)
5 / 215
Increase 5
Hafiz Ramadan
1936 unknown (#3)
4 / 232
Decrease 3
Hafiz Ramadan
1942 unknown (#3)
2 / 264
Decrease 2
Hafiz Ramadan
1945 unknown (#4)
7 / 264
Increase 5
Hafiz Ramadan
1950 unknown (#4)
6 / 319
Decrease 1
Hafiz Ramadan

References

  1. Minganti, Paolo (1971). I movimenti politici arabi (in Italian). Astrolabio. p. 30.
  2. Badrawi, Malak (October 12, 2000). Political Violence in Egypt 1910-1925: Secret Societies, Plots and Assassinations. Hardcover. p. 29.
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