The President’s ballot marked his first ever vote in parliamentary elections as members of Egypt’s military are not permitted to vote.
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Only 7.27 million out of the 27.42 million eligible voters made it to the polling stations, according to the Election Committee.
Bombing Security and the faltering economy remain the main issues, particularly since Islamic State, also known as Isis, claimed the bombing of a Russian airliner that crashed in Sinai on October 31st, killing 224 holidaymakers and devastating the lucrative tourist season just as it was beginning.
Egypt has recorded a 26.56-percent voter turnout in the first stage on October 18 and 19, which was considered too low compared to the 2012 elections that elected a parliament dominated by Islamists with more than a 54-percent turnout.
Electoral coalition Three secular parties – Free Egyptians, Future of the Homeland, and Wafd – that support president Abdel-Fattal al-Sisi won the largest number of individual seats in the first phase.
The ouster of Morsi saw a blistering government crackdown targeting his supporters that left more than 1,400 people dead, mostly in the streets of Cairo, and thousands imprisoned.
Morsi’s now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group swept Egypt’s last parliamentary election, which was held in late 2011 following Mubarak’s overthrow. “The government shouldn’t complain about the low turnout”, said a government employee who wanted to be identified only by her first name, Dalia.
With street politics eradicated and severe restrictions on the public sphere in place, political apathy has become widespread. But many still believe that only the retired general, not elected lawmakers, can lift the country from its deepening economic woes and combat the Islamic insurgency.
A total of 282 parliamentary seats are being contested on Sunday, with 222 reserved for independent candidates and 60 allocated to party-based lists, al-Ahram said.
Since assuming office 17 months ago el-Sissi has run the country with minimal checks and balances, decreeing around 300 laws, including key legislation on political rights and a terror law aimed at restricting the media.
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“You can’t think straight when you are hungry”. Many who abstained said they felt the polls offered little genuine choice in the absence of the main opposition Muslim Brotherhood and other critics and that parliament would change little in lives dominated by the struggle to earn a living.
