1st LD: Turnout rate of Egypt's parliamentary election stands at 28.3 pct

Egypt's Electoral Supreme Committee said on Friday that 28.3 percent of country's eligible voters participated in the first parliamentary election since the army-led ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The most populous Arab country has 94 million population, and more than 53 million are eligible to vote in the two-stage elections.

Ayamn Abbas, head of the election committee, told a news conference that 15,206,010 voters have cast their ballots in the polls, and the overall turnout rate is 28.3.

The rate poses a record low compared with the more than 54 percent in 2012 elections that elected a parliament dominated by Islamists.

The new parliament will consist of 596 seats, 448 of which are for individuals, 120 for winners from party-based lists and the remaining 28 will be appointed by the president.

Egypt has been without a parliament for about three years, as the last one elected in late 2011, months after the ouster of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak, was dissolved in June 2012 by a court order.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has been holding the legislative authority until the election of a new parliament, the third and final phase of the country's future roadmap to democracy. The first and second steps are approving a new constitution and electing a new president.

The new parliament is expected to be inaugurated later this month. Enditem