Since the start of its first phase in 14 governorates last Saturday, the elections for the House of Representatives in Egypt have revealed that the regime’s supporters have maintained their hearty meal, which is cooked on the stove of power every 5 years, but this time it is devoid of the salt of the opposition, whose attendance was usual, albeit a small percentage ;

To beautify the form without affecting the content.

On the surface of the elections - which the authorities say are safe from the repercussions of the Coronavirus - accusations of the internal opposition of "weakness" and of the regime's supporters "of using political money."

The vote for the House of Representatives (the first chamber of parliament) takes place shortly after the elections to the Senate (the second chamber), and it showed wide control of the regime's supporters, who ran the elections without competition from any opposition party.

It is expected that the polling of the second stage in the elections to the House of Representatives will be held on November 7 and 8 in 13 governorates, including the capital, Cairo, after the first stage showed that big names of supporters of the regime - such as journalist Abdel Rahim Ali - fell in front of other supporters.

This is the second parliamentary elections since the adoption of the 2014 constitution, and the first assembly was elected in 2015, amid a remarkable boycott by the opposition forces.

About 63 million voters - out of 100 million people - are eligible to vote in these elections, to choose 568 deputies out of 596 members in the House of Representatives, provided that the Egyptian President (Abdel Fattah El-Sisi) appoints the remaining representatives.

More than 4,000 candidates are competing for 284 seats out of 568 in the individual system, while 8 lists compete for 284 seats on the party list system.

Two main lists compete: "For Egypt" and "Nidaa Masr", most of them are among the parties loyal to the authority, but the first is the closest to the regime and the most fortunate, while the second - with an initial loss - spoke of what it called "crude breaches."

Closed-list election means that all of its members win all the list seats in the electoral district if it obtains more than 50% of the votes cast.

The first phase of the elections has so far produced initial features that may be repeated - according to observers - in its second phase, especially since the details are similar, and most of the contestants are from the pro-regime trench.

The most prominent of these initial features, according to the Anatolian Observation, are:

1- Buying Voices

Remarkably, the word political money emerged among the ranks of the supporters of the regime during the first stage, in a form that seemed to form a kind of opposition from within the system, especially as it was strongly echoed among the ranks of heavy pro-regime figures, to fill an empty electoral container of prominent opponents.

More than a week ago, on his Facebook page, the journalist close to the regime, Abdel Rahim Ali, apparently wore the dress of the opposition, saying: Your calls, I am facing the largest campaign of political money users that took place in Egypt's modern history.

Abdel Rahim Ali competed in the Dokki district (west of Cairo) in a prominent confrontation with the businessman close to the authority, Muhammad Abu Al-Enein, and Ahmed Mortada Mansour, son of the president of Zamalek, and the parliamentarian close to the authority is the other.

Abu Al-Enein won a seat that was occupied by Ali, who left for Paris on a business and medical trip, according to the website of the portal, which he chairs.

According to local media - including the seventh day (especially) - 6 members of the campaign of former MP Mai Mahmoud were arrested, on charges including distributing money to voters to vote for her, after the hashtag # Mai_Mahmoud_htin_ Al-Shaab was circulated on Twitter, shortly after her criticism The same for that phenomenon.

The "Misr Call" list addressed more than one statement to the Egyptian people and the political leadership, complaining about the use of political money to "buy votes" and crude violations, indicating that a report was submitted to the Election Commission about the violations.

2- Political back for the authority

The "Future of the Nation" party - according to initial indications - is leading the election race, and it seems that - which is close to power - it will be the most likely to form a majority of the next assembly.

According to press reports, the party won about 70% of the seats in the Senate, and therefore it is a candidate to be a political back that strongly supports the regime.

The Dahir provides many services, including: Facilitating all procedural matters relating to the formation of the Presidency of Parliament and its bodies, and passing or proposing legislation that promotes the stability of the state at this critical stage, according to what the supporters of the regime see.

3- Where is the opposition?

A question that has become acceptable in the current elections, especially with the decline of serious participation, and the inability of Asma from the domestic opposition to decide the fate of the seats that are competing for in the first round.

Haitham Hariri, a leftist opponent, entered a run-off round in the fourth district of Alexandria Governorate (north).

It is not possible to determine his ample fortunes, although it is not impossible, it is not in the regime’s interest to bring in a parliament completely free of opposition, which was one of the causes of a popular revolution that toppled the regime of the late President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak (1981-2011).

It is possible that more than one opposition name will be present in the next parliament, even if the matter calls for Sisi to appoint opponents, to complete what supporters see as a democratic wedding that has not witnessed any breaches.

Rejection of the current regime, the Muslim Brotherhood, which the regime considers a terrorist organization, was absent from these elections, and represented the strong opposition back in previous elections.

Ahmed Moussa - a media figure close to the authority - said in a televised interview that the current elections represent a burial for the group, which refuses to overthrow the late President Mohamed Morsi, who belongs to it, in the summer of 2013.

In every electoral round, accusations are repeated for the internal opposition to be weak and unable to organize its ranks in the face of the regime.

Meanwhile, opponents respond that the general atmosphere does not help in creating a democratic process, which the authority usually denies.

4- The Salafis retreat

The religious trend is running these elections in the guise of the Salafi Nour Party, and its chances - according to observers - are weak, and it is closer to repeating the experience of "zero" in the Senate, although it is not usually counted against the opposition, as it is closer to the system.

In the 2012 parliament, the party won 96 seats, ranked second, and won 45 seats in the Shura Council elections (the second chamber at the time) in the same year.

Despite his support for the military coup led by current President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi when he was Minister of Defense in the summer of 2013, the Nour Party's seats in the 2015 parliament fell to only 12, before it reaped zero in the Senate elections (the second chamber) recently.

5- The fall of big names

The first round showed the fall of big pro-regime names, who also fought with great loyalists, most notably Abd al-Rahim Ali, who appeared to him to leak an audio on the eve of the elections attacking the head of the regime and reducing the prestige of the law and the state, before denying its validity, and saying that it is "fabricated."

Ahmed, son of Mortada Mansour, president of the Zamalek club, also left the race, while the father is waiting to run for the second stage elections next November, amid doubts about his chances of preserving his seat, according to observers.

Altogether;

The system still feels stable, and the electoral battles - in the absence of the main opposition joints - do not stain the vote in the character of serious participation in the manner of previous elections, especially in 2012.

Thus, the next parliament is not expected to change from its 2015 counterpart.