Pro-Sisi parties dominate Egypt parliament vote: Election body

CAIRO

Egypt's election body on Jan. 10 announced the final results of a months-long parliamentary election, with a pro-government coalition dominating a vote critics said would further cement President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's grip on power.

Half of the seats were filled through closed party lists and the other half by individual candidates, while five percent of MPs are appointed directly by the president. A quarter of the seats are also reserved for women.

Of the half for individual candidates, the three main parties of pro-government coalition “National List for Egypt” won 164 seats, the election body said. A total of 596 seats make up the Egyptian parliament.

The majority of the remaining individual seats went to smaller parties or independent candidates who are also considered close to the government.

The pro-Sisi Mostaqbal Watan (Nation's Future) party and the National Front party — headed by former minister Essam al-Gazzar — lead the 12-member coalition.

The election body cancelled the results of the vote in more than 30 constituencies across the country in November and December, ordering a re-run following appeals over counting procedures.

Critics have long denounced the very limited role of parliament in the absence of any real opposition and the dominance of parties linked to the ruling party.

Analysts said the timing of the elections gives them unusual weight as they will be the last before Sisi's third and final term ends in 2030.

Under the 2019 constitutional amendments, Sisi's term was extended from four to six years and his previous term was retroactively counted as his first, allowing him to stay in office until 2030.

Sisi's administration, long maligned for its rights record, launched a national dialogue in 2022 in an apparent overture to the country's decimated opposition.

But the years since have seen a widening crackdown on dissent, according to rights groups, who estimate that tens of thousands of political prisoners remain behind bars.