By the end of the first day of the second phase of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, videos circulating from several constituencies showed alleged vote-buying outside polling stations. Clashes between candidates’ supporters competing for voters also echoed scenes from the first phase. Some candidates appealed to the Interior Ministry and President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to stop what they described as chaos threatening the process and participants’ safety.
The incidents came despite the National Election Authority’s pledges to prevent a repetition of first-phase violations, which had led to the cancellation of voting results in 19 constituencies.
Before voting, Ahmed Bendari, head of the authority’s executive body, told the press he was fully reassured that parties would comply with second-phase campaign rules. He expected a different electoral scene and said several parties had submitted statements of their candidates’ campaign expenditure.
Shortly before polling began, Mohamed Farghali, candidate No. 4 in the Sayeda Zeinab–Darb al-Ahmar–Abdeen constituency, announced his withdrawal. In a statement, he said he had carefully considered the electoral landscape and was withdrawing from the contest, not from serving residents. He described the decision as respect for their interests rather than weakness or hesitation.
Two sources in Farghali’s campaign told Zawia3 that the withdrawal followed threats after campaign members met security personnel inside Sayeda Zeinab police station. The sources said they were told to stop supporting Farghali and instead back Homat Watan candidate Mohamed Shiha. They said Farghali withdrew despite his local support because he feared security action against his campaign team.
Shiha is the son of Ahmed Shiha, a former National Democratic Party figure and MP for Darb al-Ahmar. The elder Shiha was a defendant in the Battle of the Camel case and was acquitted in October 2012.
Voting began at 9am on Monday, 24 November, for a two-day second phase across 13 governorates: Cairo, Qalyubia, Dakahlia, Gharbia, Menoufia, Kafr al-Sheikh, Sharqia, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, South Sinai and North Sinai.
A total of 1,316 candidates are competing for individual seats. The list contest has a single entrant, the National List for Egypt, comprising pro-government parties alongside parties operating within the limited opposition space, including the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Al-Adl and Reform and Development.
Violations outside polling stations
Hours before voting began, Mostaqbal Watan, the largest pro-government party, warned of what it called organised social-media campaigns against it and its candidates. It accused the Muslim Brotherhood of being behind material circulated in preceding days, while saying others promoted it for personal reasons.
The party alleged that the aim was to spread rumours, provoke division and undermine confidence in state institutions and political and social organisations. Its statement welcomed constructive criticism and differing views, but said it would take legal action against anyone spreading false information about its leaders or candidates.
Meanwhile, Jihad Mokhalif, daughter of independent Matareya candidate Atef Mokhalif, documented what she described as electoral bribes outside a polling station. She said executive authorities and police in the vicinity did not intervene.
Witnesses in Port Said said vote-buying began around two hours after polling stations opened. Videos and audio recordings obtained by Zawia3 indicated that payments in the governorate’s first constituency began at EGP 200 per vote and reached EGP 500 in support of Homat Watan candidate Tamer al-Hamzawi. Food vouchers were also distributed in support of independent candidate Mohamed Abu Taleb.
In the second constituency, witnesses from campaign teams reported the distribution of counterfeit EGP 200 notes to influence voters. They said the practice stopped shortly after people discovered the notes were fake.
Zawia3’s reporting also recorded money being distributed to voters by al-Husseini Mohamed Ibrahim, known as al-Husseini Abu Qamar, the National Front Party’s Port Said secretary, who was running as an independent.
Footage obtained by Zawia3 from al-Salam and al-Nahda showed money being handed to voters after they were asked to present their identity cards, in an effort to influence votes for pro-government parties, particularly Homat Watan and the Republican People’s Party.
Following these incidents, Ahmed Ismail announced his withdrawal from the parliamentary race in al-Salam and al-Nahda. He said he had entered in response to residents’ wishes and by his own decision, but was withdrawing for reasons he preferred to keep private, despite the support he had received.
Ismail described his decision as being made out of respect for himself, his history with the constituency and Egypt.
In Dar al-Salam and al-Basatin, Zawia3 documented several alleged violations involving Conservative Party candidate Islam Qortam and his campaign, including the use of political money. Qortam allied with candidates from pro-government parties, including Mostaqbal Watan, despite his party’s opposition to such alliances.
The report also identified a similar alignment involving Ihab al-Khouli in Imbaba, who presented himself as the security establishment’s candidate. MP Nashwa al-Deeb subsequently withdrew from that contest.
“Nothing has improved”
Karam Abdel-Halim, a candidate in Ismailia’s first constituency, tells Zawia3 that voting proceeded normally for the first two hours before electoral bribes appeared, which he attributed to pro-government parties, particularly Mostaqbal Watan.
He says the violations escalated into violence and intimidation as some candidates competed over influence and mobilisation. He describes turnout as low, linking it to the political climate and an electoral process he considers unhealthy.
Abdel-Halim says he saw no effective intervention by executive authorities to curb violations, and argues that their inaction allowed the situation to deteriorate.
“There has been no improvement,” he says. “On the contrary, food parcels have been replaced by cash, and crowds outside polling stations have been replaced by candidates’ thugs stationed some distance away. It is worse than the first phase.”
Monica Magdy, an independent candidate in Shubra, similarly tells Zawia3 that the electoral scene has not changed. She says she observed staged crowds organised for certain candidates after citizens’ identity cards were collected, as well as money distributed to voters.
Mariam Farouk, spokesperson for the Free Path Alliance, reports a larger voter presence in the second phase than in the first and says almost all polling stations opened on time.
Farouk nevertheless says vote-buying remains widespread and blatant outside some polling stations in Cairo and Suez, particularly among candidates from the pro-government alliance. She also describes intensive mobilisation for particular candidates.
In her assessment, the differences between the phases were a larger number of voters outside stations and the reduced presence of some parties’ campaign advertising near polling premises. The purchase of votes continued.
Official denials and recorded violations
The Interior Ministry said it had reviewed social-media videos whose publishers alleged violations outside polling stations. The ministry maintained that the clips did not show violations and that those circulating them had not submitted formal reports substantiating their claims.
In a statement, it threatened decisive legal action against people promoting those allegations, while calling on citizens to report actual violations outside polling premises so they could be examined under the law.
The National Election Authority’s operations room, meanwhile, reported several violations between the opening of polls and midday. These included a candidate allegedly staging an incident, filming it and broadcasting it live; an official report was filed.
The authority also recorded payments to voters intended to direct their votes towards particular candidates, identifying Gharbia as one of the governorates most affected. It said a report had been filed against a voter who photographed a ballot paper and reiterated the ban on photography inside polling stations.
The second phase is taking place after the unprecedented cancellation of first-phase results in 19 constituencies over significant violations, including campaigning outside polling premises and failure to provide candidates with vote-count records. Candidates interviewed for this report say fundamental abuses are continuing.
The cancellations followed Sisi’s call for the highest standards of transparency. Yet the incidents documented on the ground indicate that practices capable of undermining the integrity of voting and its results have persisted.
