The Reform and Development Party was founded in 2009 as a split from the
Democratic Front Party. The founders of the party are
Mohamed Anwar Esmat Sadat, the ex-president
Anwar Sadat's nephew, and the Egyptian billionaire
Raymond Lakah. The initial license application of the party was rejected in July 2010. It was legalized in May 2011, after Egypt's
25 January Revolution in 2011. Although the Reform and Development Party participated in the
2015 parliamentary elections, Sadat criticized the election process, which was delayed for seven months, as well as the
Supreme Constitutional Court being allowed to rule on complaints against election laws. It joined the
Civil Democratic Movement when it launched in 2017. The party has gradually distanced itself from president
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Sadat briefly ran in the
2018 Egyptian presidential election, though he withdrew. Sadat criticized the pro-Sisi "Alashan Tbneeha" (To Build It) campaign on constitutional grounds for allowing government employees to publicly support the campaign. Supporters of his own campaign, "Benhab al-Sadat" (We Love al-Sadat), have been harassed by the government. It joined the
National Unified List for Egypt ahead of the
2020 Egyptian parliamentary election. The party joined the Democratic Path Alliance in June 2025, alongside the
Justice Party and the
Egyptian Social Democratic Party, ahead of the
2025 Egyptian Senate election and began negotiating joining the
National Unified List for Egypt. The party won nine elected seats. ==Electoral history==