Egyptians cast vote in historic elections

Giza, Egypt: Election aspirations and disappointments fill the air in the Giza district of Talbiya. The working-class neighbourhood was once a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood now outlawed in Egypt.

Litter-strewn streets of the heavily populated district are festooned with banners and posters promoting bids by 20 candidates vying for the two seats reserved for it in the new 596-strong parliament.

Several of the 20 contenders standing as independents, were former members of the now-defunct National Democratic Party of president Husni Mubarak, who was forced to step down in a 2011 revolt after nearly 30 years in power.

To Reda Abu Bakr, a father of four, the political background of contenders does not matter.

“To me, what is important is whether this candidate will be able to serve the constituency and solve its problems,” Bakr, 49, said after emerging from a polling station at a local school.

“As you see, our area is so big and is lacking basic services,” he said, pointing to nearby wastewater resulting from a faulty sewer.

“I gave my vote to the candidate who I think will serve us faithfully,” Bakr, a construction worker, added, declining to name this contestant.

The district’s seats in the 2011 Islamist-led legislature were won by two members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s now-banned Freedom and Justice Party.

“The Brotherhood deputies did us nothing,” Haroun Ebrahim, 65, said. “They were more loyal to the Jamaa [a reference to the Brotherhood] than to us.”

In 2013, the army deposed president Mohammad Mursi of the Brotherhood following enormous street protests against his one-year rule.

The ouster was led by incumbent President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, the then army chief.

Dozens of Brotherhood followers in Giza have since been arrested for inciting or participating in violence as part of a tough security crackdown, according to locals

“I hope that the new parliament will work sincerely with President Al Sissi to make things better for the poor people like us,” said Ebrahim, who runs a street corner kiosk.

“We are drowning here into problems resulting from negligence. We have long hours of water cuts and garbage accumulated in the streets. “

Talbiya has an estimated population of around 400,000 population and is located in the governorate of Giza renowned for its pyramids.

Ebrahim said he was keen to go to the polls despite arthritis he suffers in his legs “because I still dream of a better Egypt for my grandchildren.

On the eve of the elections, Al Sissi urged Egyptians to vote en masse “for the sake of Egypt”.

Legislative polls are the final and third milestone in a post-Mursi roadmap for political transition, which also featured writing a new constitution and holding a presidential vote. Both steps were carried out last year.

Al Sissi’s government hopes that the new parliament will establish political stability to help revitalize the country’s economy battered by more than four years of unrest.

The assembly will have vast powers, including the right to impeach the president and call for early presidential elections.

However, with most candidates openly backing Al Sissi, the new legislature is unlikely to have strong opposition.