Egyptians voted on Tuesday in run-off elections for more than 200 parliamentary seats in which no clear winner emerged in the first round of polls, with candidates loyal to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi widely expected to dominate. Only a quarter of the electorate turned up last week for round one of the election of Egypt’s first parliament in three years, the final step on a roadmap that is meant to lead Egypt to democracy but which critics say has been undermined by widespread repression. Egypt’s last parliament, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected in 2011-12 in the first election after the popular uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. It was dissolved by a court in July 2012.
Sisi, then military chief, removed President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood from power a year later following mass protests, banning the group and declaring it a terrorist organization. He was elected president in 2014.
The new parliament will contain 568 elected members – 448 elected on an individual basis and 120 through winner-takes-all lists. Sisi may further appoint up to 28 lawmakers.
Full Article: Egyptians vote in run-offs with loyalists in the lead | Reuters.