List led by Sisi loyalists wins in first stage of Egypt's polls

A list led by a political party loyal to Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi won 142 of 284 seats up for voting in the first phase of legislative polling, officials announced on Sunday.

The National List consists of 12 parties and is led by the Nation's Future, or Mostaqbal Watan party. The first stage of the vote was conducted in 14 of Egypt's 27 provinces on 24-25 October.

The contenders in the first stage vied for 284 seats - 142 seats in the individual system and 142 from the closed list system. The National List won all the seats in the closed list system in two sectors, the head of the country's electoral commission said.

Voter turnout was 28.06 percent, National Election Authority head Lashin Ibrahim told a press conference. Around 9 million of the 31.7 million eligible voters in this stage cast their ballots, he said.

 

A run-off for the first stage is scheduled for 23-24 November. The second stage of the vote is scheduled for 7-8 November in the 13 remaining provinces, including Cairo, for the remaining 284 seats.

Ibrahim urged eligible voters to take part in the election. "Turn out for the elections and do not listen to anonymous and false news or rumours."

Final results of the vote are not expected until mid-December. The house has 596 seats. Twenty-eight, or 5 percent, of those will be named by President Sisi. The legislative elections came more than two months after a Senate election, in which 14.2 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot.    (dpa)