Egypt turnout in first round polls stands as low as 21.7 pct

Final turnout of the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections stands at 21.71 percent, the Supreme Elections Commission (SEC) said Friday.

The voting results on Oct. 27-28 was even lower than the 26.6 percent for the first phase ballot held on Oct. 18-19 in the country's 14 provinces.

"273 candidates have won seats at the parliament," SEC head Ayman Abbas told reporters during a press conference in Cairo.

Abbas said that 218 candidates won on the individual seats, including five women and 12 young men under 35.

The winners include 108 candidates who are affiliated to political parties and 105 independents.

Sixty candidates won seats by electoral lists system, he said, adding they belong to the "For the Love of Egypt" electoral list.

The parliament will be made up of 596 seats, of which 448 will be elected as independents, 120 go to winner-takes-all party lists, and the rest 28 will be presidential appointees.

Abbas added that more than 5,554,000 voters cast their votes during the second phase of the first round.

Some 27 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the first round cover 14 provinces out of the country's 27.

It is the first parliamentary elections to be held under President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi who has been holding the legislative authority in the absence of a parliament since he came to office in mid-2014.

Egypt's last general election was held in 2011, months after the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak, and the first round saw a turnout of 62 percent. Endit