Egypt is witnessing one of the most controversial parliamentary elections in its modern history, after the 2025 House of Representatives elections turned into an electoral exercise punctuated by widespread cancellations and repeat voting in dozens of constituencies. Since the launch of the first phase on 10 and 11 November in 14 governorates, followed by the second phase on 24 and 25 of the same month in 13 governorates, the course of voting has been bound up with a series of judicial and electoral decisions that redrew the map of the race for a large number of seats.
In the first phase alone, results were annulled in about 70% of its constituencies, with the elections cancelled in nearly 49 out of 70 constituencies, including prominent constituencies in the governorates of Giza, Alexandria, Assiut, Sohag and Aswan, before the elections were rerun in 19 constituencies on 3 and 4 December. This coincided with official calls to investigate violations linked to voting and counting, and with the continued counting of votes in other constituencies, which left the map of the first phase, for weeks, open to amendment and to swings between cancellation, rerun and the certification of results.
In parallel, the electoral process saw an unprecedented wave of legal challenges: the Supreme Administrative Court initially received 102 challenges to the results of the first phase, before the tally later rose to nearly 300 challenges to the results of the second phase and its rounds, including rulings rejecting 211 challenges, referring about 40 challenges to the Court of Cassation, and declaring a limited number of challenges inadmissible on procedural grounds. In addition, 48 challenges to the results of 30 cancelled constituencies were reserved for judgment during the second half of December, while other challenges related to the runoff rounds continued to be heard, leaving the final composition of the House hostage to successive judicial decisions.
The main voting process inside Egypt ended with the close of the second phase on 25 November, but the elections did not end politically or legally: the scene extended to runoff rounds in December and to a staggered announcement of final results on dates ranging from mid- to late December, with the handling of challenges extending beyond that. Between official turnout figures that speak of broad participation and an electoral reality marked by cancellation, repeat voting and a flood of challenges, the 2025 House of Representatives elections appear to be a stark test of the ability of the electoral and judicial system to restore trust in the ballot box.
For its part, the Ministry of Interior launched intensive security campaigns targeting distributors of electoral bribes, and announced the arrest of dozens of suspects in the governorates of the first and second phases, especially in Giza, Alexandria and Sohag, after seizing hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash used to buy voters’ votes.
On the other hand, candidates in several constituencies documented electoral violations consisting of the distribution of bribes to voters, as well as other violations relating to the conduct of the judges. Among the most prominent of these incidents was a video clip sent to Zawia3 by one of the candidates, showing the head of the general committee in the Mansoura constituency in Dakahlia Governorate riding in a car owned by the brother of one of the candidates during the voting period, which the candidate also mentioned in the grievance he submitted after the results were announced, a copy of which Zawia3 obtained.
In addition to this clip, Zawia3 received other clips from different constituencies, including scenes of ballot stuffing, alongside circulating talk of deals to gather votes in exchange for donations to villages, estimated to be worth millions of pounds, which brought back to the fore questions about the integrity of what took place inside and outside the polling stations during the electoral process.
Suspicions of Fraud Hover over Mansoura’s Polling Stations
In this context, Yasser Ali Gomaa, the independent candidate for Mansoura district in Dakahlia Governorate, says that the runoff round of the elections witnessed “grave and unprecedented violations”, as he described them, including, according to his account, organised vote buying, the exclusion of some candidates’ agents from polling stations during the counting process, as well as a clear inconsistency in the announced voting figures, which reached tens of thousands, compared with the actual scenes inside the constituencies, where polling stations were empty of voters.
Gomaa explains, speaking to Zawia3, that he entered the runoff round with about 25,500 votes, before being surprised by what he described as deals to gather votes in a number of villages, based on paying sums ranging between EGP 3 million and EGP 4 million in exchange for guaranteeing a specific number of votes, up to 4,000 votes from a single village, with the money to be returned if the agreed number was not achieved. He adds that these sums are handed, according to him, to “village elders” and are later allocated to service projects such as building clubs or youth centres, noting that video clips documenting these incidents reached the campaign.
The candidate points out that during the two days of voting, a number of his agents inside the polling stations were subjected to pressure and threats that forced them to leave the polling stations, before his doubts grew after the announcement of the results, which showed, according to him, the participation of about 139,000 voters, compared with 160,000 in the first round, in which 52 candidates competed, considering this figure “illogical” given the absence of crowding or turnout at all the polling stations.
In his account, Gomaa cites the drop in the number of votes in the village of Talbana from about 10,000 votes in the first round to only around 1,500 votes in the runoff round, as well as the appearance of polling stations where turnout reached 90%, despite what he described as the absence of crowds or heavy turnout throughout voting day.
He adds that his campaign received video clips that showed, according to him, incidents of ballot stuffing outside the polling stations and inside facilities at the polling centres, as well as another clip showing the head of the constituency’s general committee riding in the car of the brother of one of the candidates during the voting period, which he considered “a flagrant breach of the neutrality of the electoral process”, noting that he submitted an official grievance in preparation for challenging the results after the final decision of the competent committee is issued, and considering that what happened “goes beyond individual errors to a recurring pattern of violations” within the constituency.
Conflicting Figures
From Mansoura to Sharqia Governorate, anger escalated inside the general committees as the vote tallies were announced. The general committee of the Zagazig constituency witnessed notable tension over the inconsistency, in favour of the candidates of the pro-government parties, between the officially announced results and those that the campaigns of competing candidates said they had reached on the basis of the counting records.
This inconsistency led to a state of anger inside the general committee’s headquarters, most prominently the objection of Eman Khedr, a candidate for the House of Representatives in the constituency, who threatened to begin an open-ended sit-in in rejection of what she described as “results that do not match the counting records”, demanding a review of the announced figures and verification of the soundness of the tallying procedures.
For her part, Marwa Hashem, a candidate in the Zagazig constituency in Sharqia Governorate, says that the results announced by the general committee contradicted the counting records received from 154 sub-committees, with differences, according to her estimate, of up to about 20,000 votes that went to the four candidates who were declared winners and who are affiliated with the pro-government parties.
Marwa explains, speaking to Zawia3, that her campaign had finished compiling the results on the basis of the official counting records received from its agents inside the polling stations and was about to announce them, before being surprised by the announcement of completely different figures inside the general committee. Hashem adds that the votes of her and the other losing candidates were not deducted, but the increase, according to her, was added to the winners’ figures only.
The candidate affirms that she has submitted official grievances, which are currently being examined at the National Election Authority, accompanied by all the counting records that she said prove the accuracy of her figures, noting that the differences are “large and egregious” and cannot be explained by ordinary arithmetical errors.
During voting day, the campaign recorded, according to Hashem, video clips showing voters being directed in front of some polling stations by candidates belonging to political parties, in a flagrant violation of the rules regulating the electoral process. She adds that these clips were submitted to the National Election Authority on electronic storage devices, demanding that they be examined fairly and independently.
The Zagazig constituency candidate stresses that the effect of what she describes as “blatant fraud” is not limited to the losing candidates, but extends, in her words, to undermining the will of the voters who took part in the vote, considering that imposing MPs who do not express citizens’ choices contradicts the official calls that stressed that the parliament should express the popular will.
On the other hand, Marwa expresses confidence in the powers of the National Election Authority and its ability to review the incidents, citing previous cases in which the results of some polling stations were annulled after manipulation or grave violations were proven. At the same time, she acknowledges that other polling stations were passed despite complaints being filed about them, affirming that her campaign’s role was limited to submitting the documents and evidence available to it.
Zahran Prepares to Appeal over Political Money
From Sharqia Governorate to the heart of Cairo, Dr Mohamed Zahran, the candidate for the Matariya constituency, is preparing to challenge the election results after the official numerical tally was announced on Thursday, 25 December, having submitted a grievance immediately after the announcement.
For his part, Bassem Saleh, the candidate’s campaign manager, tells Zawia3 that the campaign monitored a number of violations during the first two days of voting, through live broadcasts following the electoral points, the distribution of cards and the directing of voters. He explains that some microbuses were parked in the streets to distribute sums of money to voters, in addition to the monitoring of multiple points inside alleys and shops where money was supposedly offered in exchange for a specific vote, and agreements between middlemen and voters were also documented.
He points out that some citizens intervened during the live filming of violations involving directing voters with political money, while the security services managed to arrest about 10 to 12 people involved in money distribution points, noting the presence of prominent figures whose arrest was not officially announced.
Regarding the election results, the campaign manager explains that the official challenge focused on clear violations at some polling stations, particularly regarding the distribution of cards directing voters, and the failure to fully comply with the procedures for sealing and documenting the ballot boxes at some polling stations, although the campaign team was unable to document all the violations for organisational and administrative reasons.
Saleh affirms that the focus of the challenge was on what he described as “directing votes with money and cards”, as the violation with the greatest impact on the integrity of the electoral process, noting the team’s keenness to document as many violations as possible to support the grievance submitted to the National Election Authority.
In this context, an election observer within one of the electoral campaigns, who preferred not to be named, recounts a number of violations during the elections in the Matariya constituency, which saw competition between four candidates. Among the most prominent of these violations was the use of religious associations adjacent to mosques, among them “Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya”, as central points for transporting voters.
In addition, one of the candidates affiliated with the pro-government parties used printed cards bearing only a “QR code” symbol and a barcode serial number, which were handed to the voter, with the sum of money due to him later transferred electronically instead of being paid directly in cash. He points to the comment of a police officer when he was asked to close one of the voter-gathering points adjacent to the polling stations: “If you see someone with money, point him out and he will be arrested immediately.”
Legitimacy in a Bind and Hopes for Dissolving Parliament
Commenting on the continuing challenges to the results before the judicial bodies, Mohamed Saad Abdel Hafeez, a journalist and deputy head of the Journalists Syndicate, tells Zawia3 that citizens have lost trust in the political process, and that the latest elections have reinforced this state of lost trust. He adds that the next parliament will remain “stigmatised and pursued by accusations of political money and vote buying”, stressing that its legitimacy is in doubt, regardless of whether its formation is completed or not.
Abdel Hafeez points out that some expect the results to be challenged or some challenges to be referred to the Supreme Constitutional Court, which may rule the elections void, whether because of loopholes in the electoral system and the elections law or in the electoral process, or because of a conflict between the National Election Authority, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Court of Cassation. He stresses that, regardless of the outcome of these challenges, the parliament remains surrounded by doubts about its legitimacy.
The journalist explains that this legitimacy is founded on the soundness of procedures, which is in doubt in these elections, as all parties have shown that the procedures of the electoral process are disputed and challenged. He adds that violations were documented in audio and video, and some cases were reviewed, while other cases were not. He also explains that the laws on which electoral institutions are based must be legitimate and constitutional and take all parts of society into account, which was not taken into account in the current election laws.
In this context, Walid El-Ammari, spokesperson for the Civil Democratic Movement, says that the next parliament has lacked credibility since day one, pointing to a large reluctance to vote at some polling stations, where turnout did not exceed 5% in some constituencies won by members of the pro-government parties, which means that the majority represents a very small proportion of voters.
El-Ammari believes, speaking to Zawia3, that there is an additional problem relating to the National List that has not yet been resolved, as the challenges submitted in the first and second phases, which led to the cancellation of the results of some polling stations at the individual-seat level, should also have had an effect on the National List’s votes, since the citizen votes for the individual seat and the list together.
El-Ammari adds that the constituencies cancelled at the individual-seat level may implicitly mean that these votes were not counted for the National List, which is supposed to exceed the 5% threshold to be entitled to seats, while the National Election Authority estimates that the list obtained 17.5% of the votes. He explains that removing the votes of constituencies cancelled by the courts may lead to the list not reaching the required minimum threshold, which raises questions about the credibility of the results.
The spokesperson for the Civil Democratic Movement adds that citizens are aware that most of the winners affiliated with the pro-government parties are linked to illegitimate practices, and that voters’ reluctance was reflected in the decline in turnout by more than 50% in the second phase.
El-Ammari explains that the absence of oversight and the existence of clear violations in the electoral process, in addition to the pro-government parties’ control over recent laws and legislation such as the laws on pretrial detention, labour and old rents, are all factors that confirm citizens’ loss of trust in the next parliament. He points out that the lists opposing the National List were refused registration without clear reasons, which harms the legitimacy of the elections and limits the presence of real opposition in parliament.
El-Ammari also points out that there is a deliberate approach that began with the amendment of the laws on the division of constituencies, increasing their size, and the adoption of the absolute closed-list system, with the aim of marginalising the opposition and preventing it from reaching parliament, which places the electoral process under suspicion. El-Ammari believes that the constitutional solution lies in the President of the Republic’s power to dissolve parliament and hold new elections under fair laws, including dividing constituencies into smaller units and guaranteeing equal opportunities, and ending the closed-list system or returning to the individual system, to ensure fair representation of the people. He notes that the continuation of the current situation without reforms points to a decline in citizens’ trust in the new parliament, and that it is necessary to reconsider the structure of elections to ensure their legitimacy and integrity.
In this atmosphere, and with challenges continuing to be submitted and the electoral process being called into question, the next parliament appears to carry many doubts and question marks about the integrity of the electoral process and its legitimacy, including conflicting results, clear violations inside polling stations, and the pro-government parties’ control over laws and legislation.
The testimonies of candidates and politicians confirm that the absence of real oversight and citizens’ reluctance to vote have weakened the credibility of the legislative institution. With challenges continuing before the administrative and constitutional judiciary, the road to restoring public trust remains fraught with challenges, which makes urgent the need for comprehensive reform that guarantees equal opportunities, transparency of procedures and genuine representation of the will of the people.
