Turnout low in Egypt's long-awaited parliamentary election

Sunday's turnout was sharply lower than the 62 percent registered in the first stage of the previous parliamentary election in 2011.

The much awaited Egyptian parliamentary elections that will cap the democratic transition of the country after being postponed on several occasions seem to be a low-key stage in the transition as voters stayed away from the polls Monday, the second and last day of the voting.

Egyptian women display their ink-stained fingers after casting their ballot at a polling station in Egypt's northern coastal city of Alexandria, in the country's parliamentary elections on October 19, 2015.

Egypt has had no parliament since June 2012 when a court dissolved the democratically-elected main chamber, then dominated by the Brotherhood.

This week, voters cast their ballots in 14 regions including Egypt's second city of Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast and Giza, a province which includes parts of Cairo west of the Nile. Voting in Egypt's other 13 provinces, including Cairo, will take place next month.

Final results for the 596-seat parliament will be announced in early December.

During the May 2014 president election, which Sisi won, the authorities extended voting by a day because of a low turnout.

Share with Us - We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism.

The new Constitution, according to analysts, gives wider legislative powers, the possibility of withdrawing confidence to the premier and ministers and impeach the president.

"I used to sleep in Tahrir Square (in central Cairo) during the revolution [of 2011 against Mubarak] but nothing has changed", said Ahmed Bahaa Karmy, 26. Moreover, given that 75 percent of the assembly is reserved for candidates running as individuals, Sisi's critics say that wealthy, pro-government individuals are likely to have a clear advantage.

Sisi specially called on the youth, women and expatriates to cast their ballots.

Official participation numbers are not set to be released before voting ends on Monday evening, the High Elections Commission said.

Sisi, the latest man from the military to rule Egypt, ousted elected president Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood after mass protests against him. Among the legislature's first tasks will be to reject or ratify a few 200 laws and decrees issued by Mr. Sisi within 15 days of being sworn in.

The Egyptian Front led by Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last premier, is another key coalition, and the openly pro-Sisi Salafist Al-Nur party that backed Morsi's ouster is the only Islamist party standing.

Feryal Hosni, a 70-year-old retired teacher from the middle class neighborhood of al-Haram in Giza, said she was voting because "this is the only way to get things right".

"It is hard to tell how serious such talk is, but at a minimum it delegitimizes the parliament before it has even been elected", said Nathan Brown, professor at George Washington University.

Lamis al-Hadidi, a TV anchor known for her fierce support of Egypt's military and detestation of the Muslim Brotherhood, expressed her bewilderment at the low turnout and blamed the parliamentary candidates for not canvassing enough among their own constituencies. "I have had discussions and for a democratic atmosphere, it is necessary that all of us vote".