MPs and political figures describe Egypt’s current electoral turmoil as a political crisis rather than a purely electoral one.
They point to the need for more space for debate, revisions to the electoral system, and wider reforms across Egypt’s political landscape.
Their demands coincide with an unprecedented shake-up of the first-phase results, which saw dozens of constituencies annulled following complaints of irregularities and vote manipulation.
Rising calls for political reform
MP Abdel-Monem Imam, head of the El-Adl Party, said his party had recorded numerous observations from the start of the first phase and may have been the only party to publicly address their impact.
He noted that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s early intervention, rejecting violations and urging the National Elections Authority (NEA) to review breaches even if cancellations were required, provided significant protection for the opposition during the second-phase provincial voting.
Imam emphasized that even a single suspicion of injustice should justify cancelling and rerunning elections.
MP Diaa El-Din Dawood said the president’s intervention defused a major crisis, prevented the scene from “exploding,” and ensured acceptable second-phase procedures, sparing the country a legislative vacuum with severe political and economic repercussions.
He called for comprehensive political reform led by President El-Sisi, broad scrutiny of old and new parties that lack clear programmes, and an approach that encompasses the entire public sphere, with open media platforms enabling wide-ranging dialogue.
Dawood argued that the core crisis is political rather than electoral, requiring greater freedoms and expanded space for debate to achieve genuine reform.
He cited national dialogue calls to reconsider the current electoral system and move toward proportional representation to allow greater pluralism.
He also highlighted the need to confront vote-buying, which he described as a serious threat to democracy, reiterating his call for full judicial supervision of elections and affirming that the constitution imposes no obstacle to having a judge at every ballot box.
“Political reform is no less important than confronting the risks of terrorism,” he said.
Dr Emad Gad, from the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, urged gradual internal reform, reduced executive interference in shaping the political and electoral scene, and revisions to the Political Rights Exercise Law to replace the absolute closed list with proportional representation.
He described the president’s intervention as positive for stabilizing the process, but said parties remain extremely weak and reliant on quotas.
Gad also argued that vote-buying, electoral violations, and parliament’s performance have significantly reduced participation.
He added that annulling all elections might be necessary to avoid questions surrounding parliamentary legitimacy, particularly after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the NEA had not supplied official voting records.
Moreover, Gad stressed that Egypt deserves better elections and that limiting executive power would strengthen parliament.
Presidential intervention and judicial response
Ahead of the first-phase results, President El-Sisi wrote on his personal social media account that he would not tolerate violations and irregularities or the manipulation of voters’ will.
He urged the NEA, which supervises elections, to take action even if that required full cancellation and reruns.
The NEA subsequently annulled elections in 19 constituencies across 14 governorates.
Appeals before the Supreme Administrative Court resulted in the cancellation of an additional 30 constituencies, raising the total to 49 out of 70, 64 percent of individual constituencies in the first round.
The NEA pledged full compliance with judicial rulings and announced reruns in all affected districts.
During a visit to the Police Academy, President El-Sisi said a citizen’s vote is a “trust and responsibility” that must not be compromised. He warned that money offered for votes does not solve citizens’ problems and urged voters to choose candidates who deserve their support.
The NEA set spending limits at EGP 500,000 for individual candidates, dropping to EGP 200,000 in reruns.
For party lists, the 102-seat cap is EGP 17 million, reduced to EGP 6.8 million in a runoff. The 40-seat list limit stands at EGP 6.7 million and EGP 2.7 million for a rerun.
Despite warnings, vote-buying persisted in some areas for mobilization purposes.
The NEA said it would ensure integrity and transparency in the second phase through proper procedures, observer presence, and delivery of official count records to candidates, measures neglected in the first phase.
Voices calling for the annulment of the entire first phase and a full rerun grew louder, while others said the actions taken reflected the strength of the electoral process and its ability to reject violations.
Some opposition figures viewed President El-Sisi’s intervention as protective, preventing a crisis from escalating.
According to the NEA, first-round results of the second phase saw the Mostaqbal Watan (Future of the Homeland) Party win 22 seats, the Homeland Defenders Party 6, the National Front 4, the Republican People’s Party 2, the El-Adl Party 1, the Conservatives 1, along with 4 independents.
On 3 December, the Supreme Administrative Court said it had received 110 appeals filed from 13 governorates hosting the second round, with the deadline set for Thursday, 4 December, and working hours extended until 9pm.
The court must issue rulings on all appeals within a maximum of 10 days, as stipulated by the NEA.
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