Elections in Turmoil: 80% of Results Overturned—What Happens Next Will Shock You!

In a significant development for Egypt's electoral process, voting will be rerun in two-thirds of the districts that participated in the first phase of the parliamentary elections. This decision came from the Supreme Administrative Court late Saturday night, following widespread reports of electoral violations and a rare intervention from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi himself.

Specifically, the court annulled the results of individual seat elections in 29 electoral districts, adding to the 19 districts already voided by the National Elections Authority (NEA). Consequently, elections will now be rerun in 48 out of the 70 districts that comprised the first phase of the House of Representatives elections.

The reruns for the initial 19 districts, previously canceled by the NEA, will coincide with the first-phase runoffs over the next four days. The NEA is expected to announce the schedule for the reruns in the additional 29 districts soon. Meanwhile, judges are deliberating over another 59 appeals against successful candidates from phase one, which have been referred to the Court of Cassation, as provided for under Article 107 of the Constitution.

Throughout the first phase, the NEA maintained that the elections were transparent and under international oversight. However, social media platforms were flooded with posts and videos documenting incidents of bribery and coercion. Reports from Mada Masr correspondents highlighted cash-for-vote operations, particularly in Alexandria, where voters were reportedly instructed to support specific candidates. Violations of campaign silence were also noted in Aswan.

In Giza, where the highest number of electoral grievances were filed—47 appeals—the situation was particularly troubling. Justice Party candidate Ibrahim al-Agamy shared that in Giza's central constituency of Talbiya and Omraniya, voters received instructions to support certain candidates, with some being offered as much as LE250 for their votes. Similar issues were reported in Alexandria, where 20 appeals reached the Supreme Administrative Court.

As public outrage escalated over these infractions, President Sisi's office issued a rare statement urging that the elections should "please God" and genuinely reflect the voters' will. This intervention was met with swift support from political parties and MPs, resulting in the NEA overturning the results in 19 districts the following day—a stark contrast to their previous optimistic portrayals of the electoral process. NEA representatives later claimed that their decision had been made before Sisi's statement.

Despite state-aligned media praising the "discipline" of phase two, Mada Masr reported ongoing incidents of voter bribery and even physical assaults on candidates in Cairo and Port Said. The NEA announced it had begun reviewing reports of violations from the second phase, with executive director Ahmed al-Bendary noting that its hotline received 221 complaints over the voting days in Egypt. Initial results for this second phase are scheduled to be announced on Tuesday.

What Does This Mean for Egypt's Future Elections?

The prevalence of large-scale violations in Egypt's parliamentary elections is not unprecedented, but the scale and blatant nature of these incidents this year have prompted comparisons to the heavily rigged elections of 2010, which preceded the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak. Critics argue that a complete overhaul of the electoral process may be necessary to ensure the legitimacy of the next Parliament, particularly as the upcoming session is expected to involve a new push for constitutional amendments aimed at lifting presidential term limits for Sisi.

Despite the unprecedented number of accepted appeals, journalist and election analyst Akram Alfy noted that the "massive number of appeals" and judicial findings of "deep flaws" in the electoral process actually serve to bolster the overall legitimacy of the elections. The number of appeals lodged this year significantly exceeded those in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

In Alfy's view, the president's intervention to address the widespread violations, coupled with the court's handling of the appeals, has provided a "kiss of life" to elections that were otherwise at risk of losing public confidence and legal legitimacy. Historically, five parliaments in Egypt's history have faced dissolution, four of which were due to rulings from the Supreme Constitutional Court over flaws in the electoral process. However, following this year's court rulings, Alfy does not foresee a similar dissolution in the near future.

While candidates in the 48 constituencies where reruns are planned now have a second chance to secure their seats, more than 250 House representatives elected via the absolute list system remain unaffected. The list vote concluded without legal challenge, as the coalition list formed by major pro-government parties and allies ran unopposed. This list only needed to cross the five-percent minimum national voter participation threshold to secure its seats, which the NEA claims it met in the first phase.