Egyptian Senate elections: 14.2% voter turnout

Abu Dhabi: Just 14 per cent of Egyptian voters cast their votes in the Senate elections held last week, in which 63 million people are eligible.

The Election Commission confirmed the low turnout Wednesday, one week after the vote on August 11 and 12, to determine the formation of the 300-member body, amid restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

“About 9.8 million or 14.2 per cent of the voters who are entitled to vote participated in the polls,” Lashin Ibrahim, head of the National Elections Authority, said in a press conference.

Counsellor Ibrahim said the “National List for Egypt” had won the first, second, third and fourth districts in the elections, as it won more than five per cent of the total valid votes in accordance with the law.

Independent candidates and a coalition of political parties won a total of 174 seats out of the 200 seats included in the ballot. The winners of the remaining 26 seats will be decided after the run-off next month, and according to the law, the Egyptian president appoints 100 members of the council.

Ibrahim pointed out that the Senate elections took place in special circumstances in light of the coronavirus crisis and high temperatures.