Immigration minister urges Egyptian expatriates to participate in second round of parliamentary elections

Minister of Immigration Nabila Makram said all preparations for Egyptian expatriates to vote in the second round of parliamentary elections, due to be held on November 21-22, were finalized.

In statements Thursday, Makram urged Egyptians abroad to join hands in the face of extremism.

Meanwhile, the premier's adviser for elections, Refaat Qomsan, said the ministries and state bodies concerned have finalized preparations for the second stage of the elections.

The second round will be held Sunday and Monday for Egyptians at home and on Saturday and Sunday for Egyptian expatriates.

Runoffs will be held on December 1, 2 for Egyptian residents, and on November 30 to December 1 for Egyptian expatriates.

Some 27.5 million voters are eligible to cast their vote in the second round compared to 25.5 million in the first stage.

As many as 222 independent parliamentary seats will be available in this vote, with 2,847 candidates competing in 102 constituencies. In addition there are 60 seats which will be filled by whichever party list secures a majority in two constituencies: Cairo and the Middle and South Delta (which has 45 seats), and East Delta (with 15 seats).

Four electoral coalitions will compete for the 45-seat Cairo and Delta constituency with 180 candidates or 45 each: “For the Love of Egypt”, the Nour Party, the Egyptian Front and Independence Current Alliance, and the Republican Alliance of Social Forces.

The first round of the polls ended up by a turnout reported at 26.56 percent.

New Valley governorate scored the highest turnout with 37 percent of registered voters participating in the elections, while Giza had the lowest turnout with 21 percent.

The "For the love of Egypt" electoral list won the party-based list seats in the first stage of Egypt's parliamentary elections.

The coming parliament will be made up of 596 seats, with 448 seats elected through the individual candidacy system, 120 elected through winner-take-all party lists and 28 selected by the president.

Source: MENA