But with an absence of opposition parties – such as the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, which has faced a deadly government crackdown overseen by Sisi – polling has inspired none of the enthusiasm witnessed for Egypt’s first democratic elections in 2011.
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Despite the election marking an important political milestone, turnout was low, as Egyptians doubted their votes could change anything.
Criticism centres on the idea that the new parliament will be little more than a rubber-stamp body for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who initiated the coup that brought Morsi down.
Ahmed Mostafa, a 25-year-old who works in a lab, said, “It’s not going to matter”.
Its party took 44 percent of seats in the first free democratic elections following Mubarak’s ouster. She had voted only once, for Sissi, and said she regretted it. “He didn’t do anything”, she said, citing the struggles of her family’s business.
Either way state workers are being given a half-day holiday on day two, apparently hoping to encourage them to vote.
Egyptians were voting on Sunday in a much-delayed parliamentary election that will tighten President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s grip on power after he crushed all opposition since ousting his Islamist predecessor.
“We need to separate religion from politics; we are a civil rather than a religious country”, Al-Senoty, who was accompanied by his two daughters in Kafr-Abdoo center of the coastal city of Alexandria, told Xinhua.
“Firstly, the basis on which the [army-imposed] roadmap was built is false, because it was done at gunpoint, following a full military coup d’etat”, Gamal Heshmat, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, was quoted as saying last month by the Brotherhood’s official website.
Egyptians overseas began casting their ballots Saturday, while the vote was being held in 14 of the country’s provinces on Sunday and Monday.
Few analysts expect turnout to exceed a third of the electorate.
Kareem Al-Senoty, retired engineer man, expressed his rejection for any religious-based nominees in the new legislature.
Under a new election law el-Sissi decreed a year ago, 448 of the house’s seats will be contested by “individuals” – or candidates not linked to any political group, a system that, critics say, will favor wealthy government-connected businessmen and powerbrokers with strong local patronage networks, in what is essentially a repeat of the Mubarak-era model. The president may also appoint a further five percent.
Run-offs will take place in districts where no clear victor has emerged, with the final results expected in December.
The Islamist Nour Party, which seeks to impose strict Sharia law and came second in the last election, will take part, running its own party lists in two districts and fielding individual candidates too.
Speculation is already rife that the constitution will be amended to curb parliament’s wide-ranging powers and concentrate authority in the hands of Mr Sisi.
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It was also noticed that many voters from large cities in Egypt such as Cairo and Port Said unknowingly went to cast their vote, but they were not aware that they are only eligible to vote on the second phase that is scheduled on November.
