Watani Party
Watani Party ﺍﻟﺤﺰﺐ ﺍﻟﻮﻃﻨﻲ al-Ḥizb al-Waṭanī | |
|---|---|
| Historical leaders |
Mustafa Kamil Pasha (1895–1908) Mohammad Farid (1908–1919) |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Dissolved | July 23, 1952 |
| 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 |
 5 |
| |
| 1936 | unknown (#3) | 4 / 232 |
 3 |
| |
| 1942 | unknown (#3) | 2 / 264 |
2 |
| |
| 1945 | unknown (#4) | 7 / 264 |
5 |
| |
| 1950 | unknown (#4) | 6 / 319 |
1 |
| |
References
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