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BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- On the first day of the long-awaited Egypt's parliamentary elections, more than 27 million Egyptians are eligible to vote but the turnout has been lower than in previous polls.
This was the country's first parliamentary elections since former President Mohammed Morsi was ousted in 2013. The vote for the 596-member parliament is expected to tighten President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's grip on power. Analysts say Sisi has considerable support among the more-than-5- thousand candidates in the polls. There are two rounds of the election, the first ending Monday.
The second will be held from November 21st to 23rd. Final results will be announced in early December. Egypt has had no parliament since June 2012 when a court dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated main chamber. Then army chief, Sisi, ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi the following year, banning the Brotherhood and declaring it a terrorist organization.
Not a very long queue - a little over a dozen voters. But it's one of the longest we've seen in Sunday's first day of voting. Many voters hoped the turnout would pick up after citizens finished work.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
