Egypt has not had a parliament since the military coup in July 2013. But finally, elections have been held and it seems like secular parties have won big.
The “Free Egyptians Party”, founded after 2011 revolution by business tycoon Najuib Sawiris, claimed to have taken the lead with 65 seats in the polls that ended a few days ago.
The party is part of a bigger alliance of liberal, secular parties, businessmen and ex military officials. “For Love of Egyp”t is the ally that has the support of the president Abdul Fatah al-Sisi who has called the political parties to form one list only, a recommendation then met with high criticism.
In 2011 the salafist got 25 percent of the parliamentary seats (121 seats). In this election they only got 12 seats, a dramatic drop of 90 percent. “Free Egyptian Party” has now 120 seats, while the party only got 11 seats in 2011.
Official turn up rate shows a 27 percent participation in the elections, to compare with the elections in 2011 that had a participation of 62 percent. Many analysts claim that the actual turnout in the 2015 elections is way below seven percent. Especially the young generation boycotted the elections.
The big question is now who will form the next government. Either the current government will stay in power, or “Free Egyptians Party” will form a coalition government together with “For the Love of Egypt”.
The elections have not been fair and equal, many reports have been submitted over bribes and harassments.Â
Egypt’s electoral mixed system allocates 80 percent of parliament’s elected 568 seats for individual candidates and the remaining 20 percent for political parties based on the winner-takes-all absolute list system.
The president is authorized to appoint 28 more members, bringing parliament’s seats to 596.
The new legislature is expected to hold its meeting later this month.
Many analysis say that this parliament is not solid and might not be able to stand against a high tension in the country.
