Following the death of member of parliament Sayed Faraj, voters in the Hadayek Al-Qubba district started voting for their new representative on Saturday.
Twelve candidates are competing in the individual and list positions, including Ihab El-Shahat of the Mostakbal Watan (Future of Nation) party, Heshmat Fahmy of the Free Egyptians party, Sayed Eid of Al-Wafd party, as well as Rafik Rezkellah, Ahmed Sabry, and Muhammed Amen, who are running as individuals.
Delays at some polling stations were noticed, according to the Supreme Electoral Committee (SEC), while an overall weak participation dominated the day.
Fahmy told Daily News Egypt that the elections are based on money, and that a vote is “worth” EGP 100 as candidates are buying votes.
If Heshmat is to win, the Free Egyptians party will have 66 members in the parliament. Ihab El-Shahat of the Mostakbal Watan (Future of Nation) party also echoed the same accusations, telling local media that the vote is worth EGP 50. He added that the low turnout in the number of voters is due to people being at work. He expected that the turnout will increase in the evening.
Egyptians abroad are expected to vote on 26 and 27 August, while local voters are set to vote on 27 and 28 August.
The date for a possible run-off is set on 2 and 3 September for Egyptians abroad, and 3 and 4 September for local voters.
The Egyptian parliament has previously witnessed three similar changes when MP Serry Seyam, appointed by the president on 31 December 2015, resigned from parliament in February 2016; as well as when elected MP Tawfik Okasha’s membership was dropped in March, following a majority of parliamentary votes in favour of his expulsion. The third case occurred when late member Sameh El-Yazal passed away.
