Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt on 22 May 1926.[1] The result was a victory for the Wafd Party, which won 171 of the 211 seats.[2][a]
The ruling Ittihad Party led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ziwar Pasha and Minister of Finance Yahya Ibrahim Pasha, while clinging to power, was too weak to carry out an effective campaign. It failed to nominate more than 66 candidates, less than the seats won by the Wafdists.[3]
After the 1925 election, where a Wafdist majority parliament was dissolved by King Fuad in less than half a day, the Liberal Constitutional Party sought rapprochement with the Wafd Party.[4] On 14 January 1926, an executive committee representing the Watani (National) Party, the Wafd and the Liberal Constitutionalists was set up to discuss their response to the King and Ahmed Zeiwar's government. The Watanists wanted the return on the 1925 parliament and a boycott of any future election, while the Wafdists and Liberals wanted new elections. However, when new elections were held on 22 May, the committee urged its voters to participate.[5] These elections were the first held under newly relaxed financial requirements for voters, significantly increasing voter turnout compared to the previous election.[6]
The British government under Lord Lloyd involved themselves in the cabinet process, refusing to accept Zaghloul as premier. In a meeting between Lloyd and Zaghloul on 30 May, Zaghloul told him were he to become premier, he would select Adly and Tharwat for posts in his cabinet. When Lloyd objected, Zaghloul told him "Vous pouvez vous renseigner" - French for "come and find out".[7] When the meeting broke down, Lloyd used gunboat diplomacy, sending HMS Resolute to Alexandria on 2 June. In the end, Zaghloul acquiesced, citing health reasons.[8]
^Deeb (1979) gives different numbers: 45 to the Liberal Constitutionalists, 9 to the Watanists, and 160 to the Wafd (pp. 138–139). Marsot (1977) gives the numbers as Wafd 144, Liberal Constitutionalists 28, Watanists 5, Ittihad 7 and 17 Independents (p. 89). Quraishi (1967) cites Khatib in the Appendix yet on page 102 says that the Wafd got 156 seats out of 214. Terry (1982) gives the numbers the same numbers as Khatib except for the Watani party, which she gives 29 seats (p. 188). Khatib's numbers were used because they were the most complete, giving both seats and raw vote totals.
^Labib Rizk, Younan (1975). Youssef, Hassan (ed.). تاريخ الوزارات المصرية ١٨٧٨ - ١٩٥٣ [History of Egyptian Cabinets 1878-1953] (in Arabic). p. 296.
^Deeb 1979, p. 137"The Liberals had thus learnt that in spite of all the inadequacies of the Constitution, and fear of the Wafdist majority, it was still a lesser evil than the King's tyranny."
Terry, Janice J. (1982). The Wafd: Cornerstone of Egyptian Political Power. Publisher: Third World Centre for Research and Publishing. ISBN9780861990009.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
