The Arab Socialist Union, the sole political party developed under the Nasser regime, controlled Egypt's political landscape, but was often charged with being the party of the elite and privileged. In attempt to assuage popular pressure, in 1974 Sadat called for the reform of the Union and the Egyptian political system. These reforms were geared to address various social forces in society as well as expanding the forum to new political parties. In 1976 Sadat approved the creation of three parties, including a renewed Socialist Union. The regime continued its strength under Egypt's Arab Socialist party, against the centrist Liberal Socialist party, and the left wing Progressive Unionist party. In the election of the same year the Arab Socialist party was elected to a overwhelming majority in parliament. In 1978 Sadat would again expand political representation, with the creation of his own National Democratic Party (NDP) and the New Wafd party, a recreation of a favored pre-revolution political party.

The NDP immediately became the majority party when members of the Arab Socialist party joined and voted to dissolve their former party. That same year Sadat was instrumental in the development of the Socialist Labor Party, a direct challenger to the constituency of the Unionist party. Sadat's final addition to Egypt's political landscape would be the 1980 amendments to the Permanent Constitution. Among these changes were; the altering of the clause regarding Islamic Jurisprudence, instead of the principal source of legislation it was to become the sole source of Egyptian law. The Arab Socialist Union was officially dissolved and the declaration of multi-party elections was drafted. Socialist style references to the elimination of class differences were removed in favor of protection of legitimate earnings and a guarantee of equal distribution of public duties and responsibilities.

In response to the parliament electing Sadat "president for life" the clause mandating only two terms was altered to mention an indefinite term limit. Finally a new section was added to the constitution, one half relating to the formation of the Shur'a, or consultation, council, while the second half called for the creation of the Supreme Press Council as a media watchdog in the Egyptian press. "Through the 1980's, President Hosni Mubarak's government had managed to balance, with some degree of success, the needs of stability and reform. By carefully opening the political arena to an array of parties and allowing the press greater freedom to criticize government policies as well as individual members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), the regime acquired a valuable measure of legitimacy.

Upon his succession from Sadat, Mubarak released a number of political prisoners and offered rehabilitation systems for those charged with more serious offenses. The new president announced his interest and respect for all forms of legitimate opposition and his willingness to hold open discussions with members of such opposition. The Wafd party emerged yet again, and the new Ummah party was created in 1983 as the sanctioned Islamically oriented party. Along with this new party, certain restrictions on the Muslim Brotherhood were again lifted during the 1980's. The Ikhwan , and other independent Islamists, were allowed to participate in elections by allying themselves with other parties. Thus, the Brotherhood ran under the umbrella of the New Wafd party in 1984, and with the Socialist Labor party in 1987. The regime also began to tolerate Islamist dominance in areas such as professional associations, as during the 1980's Islamists controlled the University Teachers' Clubs, and were gaining strength in the fields of medicine, the press, and legal syndicates. In the economic field, Egypt has not been as successful as hoped for.