Egypt gears up for second round of parliamentary elections

The second stage of Egypt's parliamentary elections is set to begin on Saturday, covering 13 governorates, including Cairo, after the first round was marked by low turnout and voter indifference.

The 24 hours of campaign silence began on Friday, with the two days of voting kicking off for Egyptians abroad on Saturday, and at domestic polls on Sunday.

Last month's first stage of voting saw a turnout of 21.7 percent, according to official statistics, however independent research organisations have said that, in reality, even fewer eligible voters actually turned out to cast their ballots.

	Many young people have become disillusioned with politics [Getty]

"Young people not taking part in the elections is evidence that something is wrong and that they have deep-seated issues with politics," Yusri al-Azbawi, a researcher at the al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told al-Araby al-Jadeed's Egypt correspondent.

"A large proportion of people between the ages of 25 and 40 will not go to the polls because the political atmosphere is not conducive of that," Azbawi added.

In a last ditch effort to attract voters before the period of campaign silence came into place, many candidates prowled the streets of major cities in campaign vans blaring popular music.

One candidate in the Delta province of Menoufiya took the electioneering fervour one step further and drove around the streets on Thursday in the back of a truck standing above a caged lion, according to local media.

The poor showing at the first round of polls prompted much sarcasm and mockery on social media, with many people tweeting out jokes using the Arabic-language hashtag #NoOneWent.

The second phase of voting in the long-delayed polls includes 13 of Egypt's 27 governorates, including Cairo.

The Free Egyptians Party, founded by billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris, has won the most seats so far, with 41.

The "For the Love of Egypt" electoral list, meanwhile, won the party-based list seats in the first stage of elections.

The results of the latest stage will be announced on 24 November, while the final run-off round will start abroad on 30 November-1 December, and for resident Egyptians on 1-2 December.

The High Elections Committee will announce the final results on 4 December.

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