Roundup: 1st day of Egypt's parliament elections ends amid low turnout

Amid high security measures and modest participation, ballots of Egypt's second phase of parliamentary elections closed Sunday at 9:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) local time.

It is the country's first parliamentary election since former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted by the army in 2013.

The High Election Committee (HEC) announced in a press conference right after polling stations closed that the first day of the two-day process went smooth.

The HEC's spokesman Omar Marwan told reporters that the process was highly secured and well-organized all over Egypt.

However, he did not speak about voters' turnout.

The electoral process started at 9:00 a.m. local time as ballot stations opened in 13 of Egypt's 27 governorates, including the capital Cairo, as some 28 million voters were invited to cast their votes Sunday and Monday.

For Egyptians abroad, Marwan said that 36,545 Egyptian expats casted their ballots in the second stage of the parliamentary elections so far.

Expatriates have already started voting at 139 embassies and consulates on Saturday.

In Cairo, the country's most populous governorate, ballot stations witnessed a low turnout. However, more voters, mostly women and old people, were observed outside vote centers later in the day.

"I came today because voting is a national duty. The participation is not very high until now because it is still so early. I expect that more people will come to vote. I wish the numbers were larger, and I'm still optimistic," Ahmed Shalabi, a 65-year-old retired military officer told Xinhua.

Shalabi urged the youth to participate in the two-day process to reflect a good image of Egypt abroad. However, young people can barely be seen at polling centers.

Egypt has recorded a 26.56-percent voter turnout in the first stage on Oct. 18 and 19, which was considered too low compared to the 2012 elections that elected a parliament dominated by Islamists with more than a 54-percent turnout.

The North African country'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.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail expected a higher turnout in the second phase of parliamentary elections.

He urged Egyptians, especially the youth, to freely choose their candidates, state-run MENA news agency reported.

A total of 160,000 army personnel have been deployed to aid the police protect polling stations the parliamentary elections.

Earlier in the day, interior minister Magdy Abdel Gaffar told MENA that security conditions are stable in all governorates.

He further hailed the security measures taken by the police in cooperation with the Armed Forces, "the matter which sends a message to the whole world that the security apparatuses are able to uproot terrorism."

Abdel Gaffar reiterated that the security forces will exert its utmost efforts to secure this democratic ceremony.

The main and central operation rooms did not receive complaints about hindering the electoral process, he underscored.

The polls will mark the last milestone in Egypt's three-stage roadmap to democracy, after adopting the new constitution and holding the presidential elections.

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.

After the previous one was dissolved in June 2012, Egypt has been without parliament for three years. Endit