A beacon of liberation, renewed national spirit, and secular conviction, al-Wafd rose to become one of Egypt’s most prominent political parties. The eruption of the 1919 Revolution, led by Saad Zaghloul, came to liberate Egypt from the shackles of British occupation and allowed for the creation of the country’s first institutionalised political organisations in contemporary history. Egypt was on the cusp of political revolution and modernity. Under the guidance of Saad Zaghloul and Mostafa El-Nahas, al-Wafd ushered in a new era of leadership following the termination of British rule. Al-Wafd became a dominant political force garnering massive public support and admiration. The party was able to contribute immensely to the development of the 1923 Constitution, and the evolution of Egypt’s reigning political system. The 1923 Constitution had established a new constitutional monarchy, where power would emanate from a nationally-elected, representative body of parliamentarians. Wafdists highly supported the end of dynastic rule and encouraged more democratic forms of governance. In the parliamentary election of 1924, al-Wafd won emphatically securing 179 of 211 parliamentary seats. As a newly elected prime minister, Zaghloul selected a cross-section of Egyptian society for his cabinet, which…
