Egyptian Social Democratic Party

The Egyptian Social Democratic Party is a social liberal and social democratic party in Egypt. It was founded after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution by the merger of two minor liberal parties, the Liberal Egyptian Party, and the Egyptian Democratic Party on 29 March 2011.

The current president is Farid Zahran, and his vice presidents of the party are Dr. Ehab Elkharat, Dr. Freddy Elbaiady, Dr. Maha Abdelnaser, Mahmoud Samy, Amira Saber, and Khaled Rashed

Notable founding members include Mohamed Abou El-Ghar, film maker Daoud Abdel Sayed, activist Amr Hamzawy, Mervat Tallawy, former UN under-secretary and executive secretary of ESCWA, and Hazem Al Beblawi, former executive secretary of the ESCWA, and later interim prime minister of Egypt under President Adly Mansour. However, Amr Hamzawy resigned from the party in April to form the Freedom Egypt Party on 18 May 2011.

In August 2012, the party was admitted into the Socialist International as a consultative member.

The Egyptian Social Democratic Party and the Tagammu Party ran in the 2012 Shura council election as part of the Egyptian Bloc. The division of seats between the two parties in the Shura Council is unclear.

The party was accepted into the Party of European Socialists (PES) on 18 February 2013.

Following the removal of Mohamed Morsi from office in July 2013, a founding member of the Social Democratic Party named Ziad Bahaa El-Din was reportedly offered the post of Prime Minister. Younes Makhioun, chairman of the Nour Party, objected to Bahaa El-Din's appointment and to the involvement of Mohamed ElBaradei, because both of them belong to the same political coalition (the National Salvation Front). However, later another founding member of the Social Democratic Party, Hazem Al Beblawi, was appointed as interim prime minister on 9 July. He subsequently suspended his membership in the Social Democratic Party. His cabinet was sworn in on 16 July 2013.

The party nominated chairman Farid Zahran for the 2023 Egyptian presidential election who came in third place with 4.01% of the vote (or 1,776,952 votes).

Policies
It emphasises both free market economics and social justice, as part of a free and democratic system. The cornerstone of its programme is a constitution that guarantees a civil state is based on citizenship. This is similar to other parties such as al-Tagammu and the Free Egyptians Party. ESDP advocated for the protection and promotion of human rights in Egypt. This included efforts to strengthen civil liberties, freedom of expression, and the protection of minority rights. The party supported democratic governance and the rule of law, reduced corruption. Farid Zahran has come out to combat inflation, reduce debt, as well as "limiting the ownership of the state-owned bodies to only major strategic projects, such as: the Suez Canal Authority, iron and steel, the aluminum complex, and the electricity, water and sewage companies."

It aimed to strengthen democratic institutions and promote political pluralism in Egypt. The ESDP emphasized social justice and aimed to address economic disparities in Egyptian society, as well as a strong government and military (but abolishing the army immunity from parliamentary oversight). This included advocating for fair distribution of resources, social welfare programs, and policies to reduce poverty. The ESDP is focused on improving education and healthcare systems. This encompassed efforts to enhance the quality of education, increase access to healthcare, and address challenges within these sectors.