Egyptian state employees will work only a half-day on Sunday and Monday, in order to allow them to vote in the second phase of the parliamentary elections, Minister of Manpower Gamal Sorour told state news agency MENA on Sunday.

Sorour, who spoke to MENA while casting his ballot at a Cairo polling station, called on all workers to vote, describing it as a "national duty."

The second leg of Egypt's parliamentary elections is taking place in 13 governorates including the capital, Cairo.

During the first phase of the elections in October, state employees were given a half-day off on the second day of the two-day vote only. In the two-day run-off rounds that came later, state employees were also given half-days off.

The turnout in the first phase of the elections reached 26.5 percent, according to the supervising High Elections Committee (HEC).

Egypt has been without a parliament since the 2011 body was dissolved in June 2012 due to the unconstitutionality of an election law.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has held legislative powers since his election in 2014 due to the absence of an elected parliament.