Egypt - Parliamentary Election - 2015

Egypt had not had a parliament since June 2012 when a court dissolved the body dominated by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, a group that is now banned and labeled as a terrorist organization.

On October 17, 2015, Egyptian citizens headed to the polls to elect members of the House of Representatives. The elections represented the final milestone of a transitional roadmap following the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi from office in July 2013.

Egypt’s electoral system is comprised of two majoritarian components: the first consists of individual candidates competing for seats, while the second component consists of electoral lists competing for seats. Both political party members and independents can run as individual candidates or on electoral lists. Out of the 568 seats, 448 seats would be elected through individual candidates competing in majoritarian elections in single and multi-member districts. The remaining 120 seats would be elected through electoral lists competing for seats in majoritarian winner-takes-all elections in four electoral districts.

The first phase involved 14 provinces voting 17-18 October 2015, and the remaining areas going to polls in early December. Egyptians living abroad had the chance to vote on 17 October 2015. Political parties are largely sidelined in the long-delayed parliament election, with three-quarters of the seats designated for candidates running as independents.

Egyptian authorities granted government workers a half-day off in an attempt to boost low turnout for the country's first parliamentary elections since a chamber dominated by Islamists was dissolved by a court ruling in 2012. But voters appeared to be shunning the ballot box for a second day, highlighting growing disillusionment since the army seized power in 2013 and promised to restore democracy. The low voting levels were in sharp contrast to the long lines of the 2011-12 election.

Analysts said the turnout may not exceed 10 percent.

Egyptians returned to polling places to vote 27Octoer 2016 in run-off elections for more than 200 parliamentary seats where no clear winner emerged in first-round elections. Only about 26 percent of eligible voters turned out for round one of Egypt's first parliamentary elections in three years. The elections were widely expected to strengthen President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi's grip on power. Voters cast ballots in 14 of the country's 27 provinces to fill the 596-member parliament.

The official results from the first round of Egyptian parliamentary elections indicated that the big winner was a pro-government alliance headed by a former intelligence general, taking 60 out of the 120 seats up for grabs. Final results were scheduled to be announced in December and the 596-seat chamber was expected to hold its inaugural session later in the month.

When the election law earmarked 75 percent of the parliament seats for independent candidates it weakened the idea of parliamentary blocs and transformed the upcoming parliament into a parliament of interests of individual members.

On December 02, 2015 Egypt wrapped up its parliamentary election, and results were expected to show a win for supporters of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. The final phase of voting came to an end on 15 December 2015. Results from the remaining electoral run-offs that took place in mid-December continued to come in. Some analysts, however, said widespread low turnout, reports of vote buying and other irregularities could later be used as reasons to dissolve the lawmaking body.

On 20 January 2016 Egypt held an opening session of parliament, the chamber's first session in more than three years. The assembly had 15 days to ratify hundreds of executive decrees issued by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, or the laws will be repealed. Egypt had not had a parliament since 2012 when a court dissolved the democratically elected legislature that had been dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood of the country's former president Mohamed Morsi.