The second day of elections for Egypt's House of Representatives has continued in an "orderly process," the National Election Authority (NEA) head Lasheen Ibrahim said on Sunday.

Ibrahim said that all polling stations opened their doors at 9 am to receive voters who adhered to the coronavirus preventive measures, including wearing face masks.

Voting is being held in 14 governorates: Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, El-Wadi El-Gedid, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Red Sea, Alexandria, Beheira and Matrouh.

Ibrahim said no violations or disruptions to the electoral process were reported, adding that the authority's central operation continues to receive inquiries from all parties of the electoral process.

Voting was set to be suspended for an hour starting 3 pm as a break for the judges supervising the elections, according to Ibrahim.

Earlier on Sunday, polls reopened in several areas in Egypt for the second and final voting day, domestically, for the first stage of elections for the House of Representatives, which are held amid strict preventive measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

Several officials continued voting on the second day, with Cairo University head Mohamed Osman El-Khosht casting his ballot in a polling station in Giza's Mohandeseen district, stressing the necessity of an active participation in the country's elections to back democracy.

He urged the university's teaching staff, workers, and students to participate in the voting process, adding that his university remains unbiased towards candidates.

The results of the first round will be announced by 1 November at the latest.

The total number of eligible voters in Egypt is 63 million, out of a population of 100 million. The eligible voters in the first stage are estimated at nearly 33 million.

The new House elections are the second to be held in Egypt amid the coronavirus pandemic, the first being the Senate elections, which were held in August.

About 4,006 individual candidates and eight coalition lists are competing over 568 seats in this election.

The number of women running in this election has increased from previous times. According to the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights, 627 women are participating in the elections among a total of 4,006 candidates, representing 8.6 percent of candidates.

The female candidates include 303 independent candidates, 280 others on the list system, and 44 candidates who are part of political parties.

A total of 284 seats will be up for grabs in the first stage, with half – 142 seats – allocated for individual candidates, and the other half for party lists.

The second phase will see a first round on 7-8 November and run-offs on 7-8 December.

The pro-government Mostaqbal Watan Party, which currently holds majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, is fielding 284 candidates, the largest number from any party.

The party is contesting all 143 individual districts, as well as the four party list districts in the race.

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