By Toqa Ezzidin
Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb called on Egyptians to vote in the parliamentary elections, describing voting as a national duty that should not be neglected, in a statement to the privately-owned CBC TV channel on Sunday.
Moreover, Al-Tayyeb urged youths in particular to participate, along with boycotters, saying that boycotting the parliamentary elections is equal to “disobeying parents”.
However, the Al-Tayyeb’s comments appear to conflict with those of Grand Mufti Shawqy Allam, who said just before the first round of parliamentary elections that any “advisory opinion” that implies that boycotting elections is religiously prohibited is nothing but a void opinion.
Allam added that advisory opinions of this sort represent a merging of religion and political affiliations. Nevertheless, he called on Egyptians to participate in the elections.
Minister of Education Al-Helaly Al-Sherbiny also invited Egyptians to participate in the election, with a view to forming a parliament capable of solving problems.
Furthermore, Al-Sherbiny said all schools have taken the necessary precautions to accommodate voters taking part in the “democratic festival”.
Former interim president Adly Mansour also participated in the elections and invited Egyptians to engage in the process and elect a parliament of their choice.
Nehad Aboul-Kamsan, head of the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights, said in a statement to the privately-owned CBC TV channel that the turnout in the second round is significantly higher than the first round and is expected to increase.
She added that most of the voters are women.
Several public figures have called on Egyptians to participate in the second round of the parliamentary elections amid concerns of low turnout, estimated at no more than 26%.
