Home
Politics
The third round of voting which takes place over two days in nine of the country's 27 provinces is unlikely to change the outcome of the election, which has so far seen Egypt's main Islamist parties claim a crushing victory.
Small queues formed throughout the day outside polling stations which opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and closed at 7:00 PM (1700 GMT) in the Nile Delta, the south and the tourist resorts of South Sinai.
Voters had to pass through metal detectors before entering polling stations in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, site of Mubarak's second residence.
In the Nile Delta province of Qaliubiya, the turnout appeared low compared with the first rounds with only dozens standing outside a school waiting to vote, an AFP correspondent said.
"I'm incredibly happy today, I feel like my country is seeing a huge change," said Amira, 25.
In the southern city of Minya, with a large Coptic population, voters trickled into polling stations in a relaxed atmosphere, an AFP reporter said.
Turnout seemed to pick up slightly in several provinces after people left work.
The first two rounds of voting saw Islamist parties emerge as winners, mirroring a pattern in the region since the Arab Spring uprisings overthrew authoritarian secular regimes.
The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, the country's best organised political movement which was widely expected to triumph in the polls, has claimed the lead through its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP).
But the surge of Al-Nur, which represents the ultra-conservative Salafi brand of Islam, has raised fears among increasingly marginalised liberals about civil liberties and religious freedom.
The Islamists' victory has also raised concerns about the future of the country's lucrative tourism industry.
"God willing, the FJP will win. They are good people. Tourism is their priority, they will never shut it down," said one of the voters, Umm Mohammed, a government employee whose husband works in tourism in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Her friend, Umm Esraa, said "most FJP people here work in tourism so they would be the first to be scared for its future."
The Islamists' liberal rivals -- including the country's oldest party Al-Wafd and liberal coalition the Egyptian Bloc -- have fared badly in the first two rounds of voting.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took power when Mubarak was ousted, has repeatedly pointed to the elections as proof of its intention to hand the reins to a civilian government.
But the vote has exposed a deepening rift among Egyptians. Some see them as the first step to democratic rule, while others say the new parliament -- whose function remains unclear -- leaves control in the hands of the military.
The SCAF has faced growing outrage over the actions of security forces against demonstrators for an immediate transition to civilian rule, which have resulted in dozens of deaths and been widely criticised as heavy-handed.
The SCAF has also come under fire after raids on 17 offices of non-governmental organisations, three of them US-funded, that prompted hints from Washington that it may review its huge aid programme.
The ruling military has decided on a complex electoral system in which voters cast ballots for party lists, that will comprise two-thirds of parliament, and also for individual candidates for the remaining third of the lower house.
The procedure to elect a full assembly ends in February, after Egypt's military ruler decreed on Sunday that the multi-phase elections for parliament's consultative upper house, the Shura Council, will be held over a shorter period.
With the final elections wrapping up earlier, the two houses will now be able to move more swiftly towards writing a new constitution.
The election for a new president is to take place by June.
The final round of voting came as Mubarak was in the dock for a new trial hearing.
The ailing former president, now 83, could be sentenced to death if found guilty of involvement in the deaths of protesters during the uprising that overthrew him in February.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small queues formed throughout the day outside polling stations which opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and closed at 7:00 PM (1700 GMT) in the Nile Delta, the south and the tourist resorts of South Sinai.
Voters had to pass through metal detectors before entering polling stations in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, site of Mubarak's second residence.
In the Nile Delta province of Qaliubiya, the turnout appeared low compared with the first rounds with only dozens standing outside a school waiting to vote, an AFP correspondent said.
"I'm incredibly happy today, I feel like my country is seeing a huge change," said Amira, 25.
In the southern city of Minya, with a large Coptic population, voters trickled into polling stations in a relaxed atmosphere, an AFP reporter said.
Turnout seemed to pick up slightly in several provinces after people left work.
The first two rounds of voting saw Islamist parties emerge as winners, mirroring a pattern in the region since the Arab Spring uprisings overthrew authoritarian secular regimes.
The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, the country's best organised political movement which was widely expected to triumph in the polls, has claimed the lead through its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP).
But the surge of Al-Nur, which represents the ultra-conservative Salafi brand of Islam, has raised fears among increasingly marginalised liberals about civil liberties and religious freedom.
The Islamists' victory has also raised concerns about the future of the country's lucrative tourism industry.
"God willing, the FJP will win. They are good people. Tourism is their priority, they will never shut it down," said one of the voters, Umm Mohammed, a government employee whose husband works in tourism in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Her friend, Umm Esraa, said "most FJP people here work in tourism so they would be the first to be scared for its future."
The Islamists' liberal rivals -- including the country's oldest party Al-Wafd and liberal coalition the Egyptian Bloc -- have fared badly in the first two rounds of voting.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took power when Mubarak was ousted, has repeatedly pointed to the elections as proof of its intention to hand the reins to a civilian government.
But the vote has exposed a deepening rift among Egyptians. Some see them as the first step to democratic rule, while others say the new parliament -- whose function remains unclear -- leaves control in the hands of the military.
The SCAF has faced growing outrage over the actions of security forces against demonstrators for an immediate transition to civilian rule, which have resulted in dozens of deaths and been widely criticised as heavy-handed.
The SCAF has also come under fire after raids on 17 offices of non-governmental organisations, three of them US-funded, that prompted hints from Washington that it may review its huge aid programme.
The ruling military has decided on a complex electoral system in which voters cast ballots for party lists, that will comprise two-thirds of parliament, and also for individual candidates for the remaining third of the lower house.
The procedure to elect a full assembly ends in February, after Egypt's military ruler decreed on Sunday that the multi-phase elections for parliament's consultative upper house, the Shura Council, will be held over a shorter period.
With the final elections wrapping up earlier, the two houses will now be able to move more swiftly towards writing a new constitution.
The election for a new president is to take place by June.
The final round of voting came as Mubarak was in the dock for a new trial hearing.
The ailing former president, now 83, could be sentenced to death if found guilty of involvement in the deaths of protesters during the uprising that overthrew him in February.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
