The National Elections Authority in Egypt announced - Sunday - that the participation rate in the first phase of the House of Representatives (Parliament) elections was 28.06%.
According to local media, the number of voters reached 9 million out of 31 million voters in 14 governorates where the first phase of the elections took place.
Judge Lashin Ibrahim, head of the National Elections Authority, said during a press conference reported by local media, that "the elections witnessed a competition between the candidates according to the highest standards of transparency and international integrity."
On October 24, the first phase elections were held in 14 governorates, including Giza and Alexandria. The second phase is expected to take place on November 7 and 8 in 13 governorates, including Cairo.
The elections are supposed to result in the selection of 568 deputies out of 596, provided that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will appoint the remaining seats.
Approximately 63 million voters - out of 100 million people - are entitled to vote in these elections to choose 568 deputies out of 596 members in the House of Representatives, provided that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi appoints the rest of the deputies.
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 competing for "For Egypt" and "Nidaa Masr", most of them are pro-government parties. However, the first is the closest to the regime and the most fortunate, while the second talked about what it called "crude breaches."