Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi
In a statement posted on his social media accounts, El-Sisi said the NEA, an independent body under its establishing law, must “enhance the transparency of procedures” by ensuring that each candidate’s representative receives a copy of the subcommittee vote-count record, so that incoming lawmakers are “actual representatives of the people of Egypt under the Parliament’s dome.”
He added that the authority “must not hesitate to take the correct decision” if the real will of voters cannot be verified, whether through a “complete annulment of this phase of the elections” or a “partial annulment in one or more electoral districts,” with repeat voting to follow.
El-Sisi also called on the NEA, which has exclusive jurisdiction over national elections, to “announce the procedures taken regarding the campaign violations” reported to it, saying this would ensure effective oversight, keep campaigning within legal limits, and prevent further breaches in upcoming rounds.
His remarks come amid a wave of complaints and appeals filed after the first phase of the 2025 House of Representatives elections, particularly in constituencies marked by close competition among individual candidates.
While the NEA said voting proceeded smoothly with no official violations on the first day, several campaigns and observers reported isolated disputes during the count.
Reports highlighted alleged breaches of campaign rules, including unauthorized promotional activity around polling stations, voter mobilization during the silence period, and the distribution of food parcels or other incentives in parts of Upper Egypt and Giza.
Other complaints focused on the counting process.
In Alexandria’s Montaza district, one ballot box was annulled after video footage circulated showing possible tampering, prompting the NEA to discard its contents following an appeal.
Similar petitions were filed in other constituencies, with candidates alleging discrepancies between preliminary tallies at subcommittees and the consolidated district-level totals.
Election timeline
Egypt’s parliamentary elections are being held in two phases, both domestically and abroad. In the first phase, overseas voting took place on 7–8 November, followed by domestic voting on 10–11 November across 14 governorates: Giza, Beni Suef, Fayoum, Minya, Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, the Red Sea, Alexandria, Beheira, and Marsa Matrouh.
The remaining governorates will vote in the second phase, beginning with overseas polling on 21–22 November and continuing with domestic voting on 24–25 November in 13 governorates, including Cairo.
The results of the first phase will be announced by 18 November, and the results of the second phase by 2 December.
A runoff for Egyptians abroad in the first phase will be held on 1–2 December, while the domestic runoff will take place on 3–4 December. The second-phase runoff will be held on 15–16 December abroad and 17–18 December domestically.
The runoff results will be announced by 11 December for the first phase and by 25 December for the second phase.
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