CAIRO, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt began on Saturday the second stage of the parliamentary elections in 13 out of the country's 27 provinces, including the capital Cairo, Suez, Port Said, Ismailia, North Sinai and South Sinai.
Out of the total 63 million eligible voters in Egypt, more than 31 million are entitled to cast their ballots in the two-day second and last stage to elect their representatives in the country's legislative body, or the House of Representatives.
At least 2,367 candidates are competing for 284 out of 568 parliament seats in this stage. Just like the first stage, half of the seats are allocated to individual candidates and the other half to party lists.
Mohamed Dakroury, 51, a candidate competing in Maadi suburban district in the south of Cairo, said he has a program to improve services including healthcare in Maadi and its Tora neighborhood.
"All in all, the electoral process is going well and the organization of the election is very good, to be honest. The security authorities immediately interfere to stop any violations," the candidate told Xinhua.
The elections are held amid intensive security deployment and tight precautionary measures against COVID-19 pandemic, where voters pass through disinfection gates to reach their polling stations and everyone wears medical face masks.
Osama Sayed, a 44-year-old voter from Cairo who works as a shipping courier, expressed his belief that his vote counts, noting he cast his ballot in former parliamentary and presidential polls.
"I cast my vote not only for me but for my country. My vote is my right and I won't give it up. We hope that our votes will bring lawmakers who improve the services in their provinces and neighborhoods," the man said.
The Egyptian presidential media center showed footage of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi casting his vote in the parliamentary elections earlier in the day at one of the polling stations in Cairo.
In addition to the main 568 seats, the Egyptian president will appoint 28 members according to the law, raising the total seats of the House of Representatives to 596.
Other senior officials also cast their ballots on Saturday, including the governor of Cairo and the ministers of interior affairs, foreign affairs, higher education, military production, trade and industry, environment, immigration, and information.
"Any political process won't be successful without people's participation. It is very important, so I urge people to go and cast their votes," Minister of Information Osama Heikal told Xinhua.
At some 9,468 polling stations in the 13 provinces, the polls are overseen by about 12,000 judges and nearly 570 correspondents from 166 media institutions, as well as local and foreign organizations and candidate representatives.
The first stage of the Egyptian parliamentary elections was held on Oct. 24-25 in 14 provinces including Giza, Alexandria, the Red Sea, Luxor and Aswan, with a similar number of candidates competing for half of the seats.
The turnout in the first stage, which involved 31.7 million eligible voters, stood at 28.06 percent, as announced by the National Election Authority (NEA).
The result of the second stage will be announced on Nov. 15, according to the schedule released by the NEA.
The run-off rounds of the first stage inside the country will be held on Nov. 23-24 and those of the second, if any, on Dec. 7-8.
In August, Egyptians elected the country's first Senate with 300 members, one third of whom are appointed by the President.
The newly created Senate will be an advisory body without legislative authority.
