On Monday, Egyptians will vote to elect a new parliament.
Polling stations open at 9:00 am (0700 GMT), kicking off a multi-week process to fill 568 of the 596 lower house seats, with some areas not voting for another two weeks.
President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will appoint the remaining 28 lawmakers directly.
Egyptians living abroad voted on Friday and Saturday. In places like Alexandria, voters have until Tuesday for the first round. Regions such as Cairo will vote starting November 24.
Final results are anticipated by December 25.
Half of the seats will be allocated through closed party lists, and the other half via individual candidates, with a quarter reserved for women.
This parliamentary election follows the senate elections over two months ago, which saw a low turnout of 17%.
The pro-government coalition, “National List for Egypt,” dominated the senate elections, running unopposed in the party list race.
The coalition is expected to prevail again.
Leading the 12-member coalition are the pro-Sisi Mostaqbal Watan (Nation’s Future) party and the National Front party, led by former minister Essam Al Gazzar.
Gazzar’s newly established party includes former government officials and is financially supported by business tycoon Ibrahim Al Organi, a close ally of Sisi.
Opposition groups remain fragmented; some parties run independently, while others join pro-government lists.
Analysts highlight the election’s significance as it will be the last before Sisi’s third and final term concludes in 2030.
“Sisi needs a fully controllable parliament,” said Timothy Kaldas of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy to AFP.
“Should he wish to remain in power beyond 2030, the next parliament would need to initiate any constitutional changes,” he added.
The 2019 constitutional amendments extended Sisi’s term from four to six years, retroactively counting his previous term as his first, thus allowing him to remain in office until 2030.
In 2022, Sisi’s administration initiated a national dialogue, seemingly as a gesture towards the weakened opposition.
