{"id":13590,"date":"2025-08-06T14:45:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T12:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=13590"},"modified":"2025-08-06T14:45:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T12:45:40","slug":"senate-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/senate-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Elections in Egypt: Forced Crowds and Scenes of Apathy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the course of August 4th and 5th, the Egyptian Senate elections (the second chamber of parliament) were held, amidst a familiar scene: party banners dominating the surroundings of polling stations, official statements about “high turnout,” and media coverage confirming the “democratic celebration,” while the on-the-ground reality painted a different picture, dominated by public apathy and the repetitive nature of electoral scenarios that have lost momentum over the years.<\/p>\n

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From the early hours of the first day, the electoral process kicked<\/a> off in around 8,200 sub-committees under the supervision of about 9,500 judges, with around 63 million Egyptians eligible to vote. While the National Elections Authority promoted what it described as “complete transparency” and “unprecedented monitoring” by 86 local and international organizations, the circulating photos and field reports showed many polling stations empty, with low turnout even in traditionally active areas like Dakahlia and Greater Cairo.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In contrast, statements from party officials, particularly from<\/a> “Mostaqbal Watan” (Future of the Nation) and “Hamas Al-Watan” (Defenders of the Nation), seemed determined to reinforce the narrative of public participation, while monitors and civil society organizations observed clear field violations and familiar electoral practices.<\/p>\n

According to the schedule announced by the National Elections Authority, the results of the first round of elections will be announced and published in the official gazette on August 12th. In case of a runoff, the voting for Egyptians abroad will take place on August 25th and 26th, followed by voting within Egypt on August 27th and 28th. The final result will be announced and published in the official gazette on September 4th.<\/p>\n

The Senate is composed of 300 members, 200 of whom are elected through a mixed system between individual and closed-list elections equally, while the president appoints 100 others. A total of 424 candidates are competing for the individual seats, with 183 independent candidates and 241 representing political parties. The competition for the closed-list system is limited to one list, called “The National List for Egypt,” which includes a coalition of more than 20 political parties with different orientations.<\/p>\n

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Don’t miss: Entitlement Without Impact: Egypt\u2019s Senate Elections Approach Amid General Silence<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Violations and Low Voter Turnout<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Zawia3\u2019s field monitoring team observed several violations over the two-day period. The most prominent of these violations included scenes of voter bribery, with amounts ranging from 100 to 500 EGP ($2 to $10) in some polling stations, or the distribution of food packages. Additionally, a general lack of turnout was noted during the early hours of the first day, although it increased during the second half of the day, amidst continued signs of organized mobilization by businessmen associated with some of the ruling parties. This brought to mind the typical scenes of the past decade’s elections.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In Sohag governorate, our team observed in several polling stations that agents responsible for candidates on individual seats distributed coupons in front of the stations, confiscated voters\u2019 national ID cards, and gave them copies for use during the voting process. After exiting the stations, voters received a “coupon” with a set amount of money, and after 4 p.m., they would go to collect a food package from the agent’s house or from one of the candidate\u2019s offices. The package contained: a bag of sugar, a bag of rice, two bags of pasta, a bottle of medium-sized oil, and some legumes.<\/p>\n

From Sohag to Alexandria, political money and vote buying were the most prominent scenes. Many citizens reported receiving “coupons” redeemable at a popular supermarket chain, with values ranging from 100 to 200 EGP ($2 to $4) for each voter, along with meals distributed near some polling stations. A number of election brokers were observed organizing large groups of male and female voters, especially in the Mansheya and Bahri areas, with microbuses adorned with the “Mostaqbal Watan” party logo transporting citizens to polling stations.<\/p>\n

One of the most controversial scenes in this year\u2019s Senate elections occurred in many governorates, where some government institutions were used to mobilize “voter participation.” In the capital, official entities such as the South Cairo and Giza Mills and the General Authority for Supply Commodities transported their employees by buses to polling stations, simply documenting their attendance before returning them to work. Some employees confirmed that they did not actually vote.<\/p>\n

In Alexandria, the Alexandria Electricity Distribution Company organized a mass departure of thousands of employees toward the polling stations, which was presented in the media as a sign of political awareness, but appeared more as an imposed administrative commitment under the guise of \u201cnational duty.\u201d In Dakahlia, the Directorate of Education officially encouraged its employees to vote heavily, with media coverage to promote the mobilization.<\/p>\n

In the Red Sea governorate, there were efforts to mobilize voters working in state institutions, particularly the Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments). The General Authority for Red Sea Ports also transported its employees to polling stations by its own buses. In Port Said, the Orthodox Church was involved in mobilizing voters, with schools affiliated with the Orthodox Diocese of Port Said and a group from the local churches participating in the Senate elections. Port Said University also mobilized dozens of its staff, administrative personnel, and students to vote, providing buses to take them to polling stations.<\/p>\n

In Menoufia, there was clear mobilization in front of polling stations where photography was allowed, while other stations were nearly empty. Witnesses reported that mobilization was occurring through government offices, factories, and companies owned or managed by businessmen, some of whom are candidates in the election or have ties to the “Mostaqbal Watan” party.<\/p>\n

The city of Mahalla in Gharbia witnessed active participation from workers, who attended the polling stations in noticeable numbers, signaling a level of mobilization within the labor sector, according to eyewitnesses.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Sharqia governorate appeared to be almost devoid of electoral activity. Zawia3\u2019s monitoring team, through eyewitness reports, observed a clear lack of turnout, with a complete absence of campaign advertising or any signs of actual competition. Several citizens confirmed that they were unaware of the ongoing elections, reflecting a widening gap of trust and engagement in the political process.<\/p>\n

In some polling stations in Mansoura, the opening of voting was delayed by nearly an hour to allow for the completion of the crowd. Organized distribution of flags was observed, with a heavy presence of women dressed in black abayas, a nearly uniform scene among female voters. There were also reports of educational authorities directing teachers and employees to vote at specific polling stations, and voting caravans were seen leaving the university dorms in Mansoura. Notably, there was a near-total absence of young people, with groups of barely eligible teenagers observed, all amidst a heavy security presence, according to witnesses contacted by Zawia3.<\/p>\n

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The Egyptian Social Democratic Party recorded widespread violations on the first day, including delays in opening polling stations and the distribution of electoral bribes via financial vouchers worth 200-300 EGP ($4 to $6), according to a statement received by Zawia3. The party also accused several charities of mobilizing voters, particularly women, and documenting fake queues to show false popular participation. The party believes these violations undermine the integrity of the electoral process.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, the Al-Wa\u2019i (Awareness) Party expressed its concern in an official statement over widespread electoral violations, including blatant vote buying, prohibited campaigning near polling stations, delays in the opening of some stations, the absence of indelible ink, and poor organization. The party pointed out that some major political forces expanded their violations as the end of voting approached, aiming to exert undue influence on voters after their candidates\u2019 chances declined against competitors from smaller parties and independents. The party warned of the dangers of continuing these practices and called on the relevant authorities to act immediately and enforce the law to protect the integrity of the elections and preserve voters’ will.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights also observed violations, including illegal electoral campaigning, vote buying, and the presence of party elements inside some polling stations, alongside a relative lack of voter turnout in some governorates.<\/p>\n

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Don’t miss: 70 Million for a Seat: The Price of Entering Egypt\u2019s Parliament<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Matrouh’s Boycott for Justice<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Matrouh governorate, there was a broad response to the boycott calls launched by activists, protesting the delay in justice procedures concerning the case of the two young men, Youssef Sarhani and Farag El-Farazi.<\/a><\/p>\n

In an interview with Zawia3, the former head of the Matrouh Lawyers\u2019 Syndicate, Mamdouh Ragheb Darbali, stated that their stance of boycotting the elections was not directed against the candidates, whom he described as “respectable individuals.” Rather, it was a protest message to the ruling regime, which, according to him, “has overstepped the rights of the people of Matrouh, violating their security, land, and lives, while law enforcement agencies are subject to its directives, disregarding both the law and the constitution.”<\/p>\n

Darbali explained that, as legal professionals, they confront what he called the “sins of governance” against the people of Matrouh through the legal process and by resorting to the national judiciary. However, they are also prepared to approach international courts if the local judiciary fails to deliver justice. He emphasized, “When the pathways to justice become suffocated and legal procedures are hindered, we resort to political pressure tools to clear the way for judicial justice. The boycott serves as both a legal and political tool, aiming to alert the state that Matrouh is capable of uniting in the face of injustice.”<\/p>\n

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A Farcical Election<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Dr. Amr Hashem Rabea, the advisor to the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Medhat El-Zahid, Chairman of the Popular Socialist Alliance Party and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Civil Democratic Movement, and Zahdi Al-Shami, a member of the political office of the Alliance Party, all agree that the 2025 Senate elections are taking place in a context devoid of true democratic substance. They view the election as a symbolic electoral scene serving only to fulfill formalities rather than substantive democracy, reproducing institutions without real powers, while the results are predetermined, with electoral practices marred by blatant bias and flagrant violations. They see this as an indication that the regime continues to empty any political process of its meaning and turns it into a mere fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Dr. Amr Hashem Rabea affirms that the “loud propaganda” scenes in front of polling stations are nothing more than a repetitive, futile spectacle of an election devoid of any real democratic substance. He points out that “the regime is convinced of its own narrative about the existence of elections, even though the entire process lacks the minimum level of integrity, competitiveness, or neutrality.” He adds that “the whole scene reflects the absence of a public sphere: there is no parliament to monitor the government or hold the president accountable, no independent media outside the state’s grip, and even the media scene itself is nationalized through a state-owned company that manages and directs the media discourse.”<\/p>\n

In statements to Zawia3, he explains that “democracy is not just about voting boxes, but a comprehensive system of power rotation, freedom of the press, and transparency of procedures, all of which are absent.” He criticizes the performance of the National Election Authority, stressing that the uniform arrangement of party names on the lists, with “Mostaqbal Watan” always at the forefront across all governorates, raises questions about neutrality, especially with the appearance of candidates from these parties at the nomination centers a day before the official date, as if the roles were pre-distributed.<\/p>\n

Rabea also criticizes the early display of campaign banners weeks before the official date, and the management of the closed lists as though they were direct appointments, considering that anyone entering the list becomes an actual deputy even before voting. He concludes by saying: “When the results are known in advance, we cannot call it an election.”<\/p>\n

For his part, Medhat El-Zahid views the Senate as “a useless legislative appendage,” a political and economic burden on the state, used as a tool to appease those who have not received their share of positions and to expand the circle of loyalty.<\/p>\n

In exclusive comments to Zawia3, he emphasizes his objection to the president\u2019s appointment of one-third of the members, considering it a violation of independence. He adds that its existence is an unnecessary repetition of the House of Representatives, which itself lacks clear legislative powers, and that the second chamber consumes huge resources without justification, weakening the opportunities for power rotation, renewing the elite, and ensuring fair representation.<\/p>\n

Zahdi Al-Shami describes the electoral scene for the Senate as “completely farcical, with results clearly predetermined,” pointing out that the regime appoints one-third of the members and selects the other third through a closed, wide list, the names of whose candidates 99% of the citizens do not know, while individual seats are presented in a formal system that is essentially based on hidden lists.<\/p>\n

In a conversation with Zawia3, he notes that the voters’ lack of knowledge about the candidates or understanding of the purpose of the election drives the regime to “fabricate a turnout percentage” that grants legitimacy, even if it is fake, with the law requiring a certain percentage to declare the victory of the only list.<\/p>\n

He adds that electoral practices have deteriorated from vote buying to forced voting, through summonsing employees by orders or sending administrators to markets and neighborhoods to guide citizens, verifying their votes through indelible ink. He affirms that these practices force some to vote for candidates they do not know, simply to raise the participation rate, which remains “paltry by global standards.” He believes that the regime proves time and again its ability to empty any positive practice of its content, turning it into a form without substance, laden with negative connotations that provoke mockery, disdain, and anger.<\/p>\n

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Since 2015, Egypt has been organizing parliamentary elections according to the controversial “closed-list system,” which is strongly rejected by opposition parties but insisted upon by the government and ruling parties. Under this law, the country is divided into electoral districts, each allocated a specific number of seats to be filled by closed party or coalition lists, with voters voting for the entire list rather than for individual candidates within it. The list is considered “absolutely closed” because the voter cannot change the order of names within the list or choose specific candidates from it, and the list that wins the absolute majority of votes (50% +1) wins all the seats in the district, without proportional distribution among other competing lists.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The “National List for Egypt” is contesting the elections alone, with no competing lists in the four districts designated for the closed-list system, as announced by the National Elections Authority last Thursday, coinciding with the closure of nominations for the Senate elections after six days of receiving candidate applications for both the list and individual systems.<\/p>\n

Regarding the individual seats, which number 100, the Mostaqbal Watan, Hamaat Al-Watan, and National Front parties collectively fielded over 40 candidates, while the Republican People\u2019s Party presented 21 candidates, and the Egyptian Social Democratic Party made a notable presence with 35 candidates. The Erada Gile Party entered the competition with 33 candidates, the Al-Ittihad Party with 30 candidates, and the Al-Ahrar Party with 28 candidates, while the Tagammu Party presented 27 candidates. The Al-Jeel Party had 25 candidates, the Al-Hurriya Party 24, the Al-Adala Party 19, the Arab Nasserite Party 18, the Al-Mu\u2019tamar Party 17, and the new independents 15, the Al-Nour Salafi Party 12, and the Al-Wa\u2019i Party 11, while the Wafd Party only presented 10 candidates.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the Civil Democratic Movement, a coalition of liberal and left-wing parties, announced its full boycott of the Senate elections, protesting the lack of guarantees for integrity, especially after the cancellation of full judicial supervision over the voting process. They also criticized the adoption of the closed-list system, which leads to the waste of nearly 49% of voters’ voices, allowing one entity to monopolize all the seats if it obtains (50% +1) of the votes, which the movement considered as entrenching political exclusion and closing off the public sphere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Egypt’s 2025 Senate elections were marred by widespread violations, political manipulation, and a call for boycott. With pre-determined results and forced voting, the elections highlighted a lack of true democratic integrity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[412],"tags":[12141,12145,12147,12148,12139,12146,12140,12142,12143,12144],"kateb":[710],"class_list":["post-13590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-en","tag-boycott-egyptian-elections","tag-closed-list-system-egypt","tag-corruption-in-egypt-elections","tag-egypt-political-protests-2025","tag-egypt-senate-election-2025","tag-egyptian-elections-2025-turnout","tag-electoral-violations-egypt","tag-forced-voting-egypt","tag-mostaqbal-watan-senate-2025","tag-political-manipulation-egypt","kateb-zawia3-com"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\u0646\u0633\u062e\u0629-\u0645\u0646-\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u062c\u0627\u0646\u064a.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13590"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13591,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13590\/revisions\/13591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13590"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=13590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}