Egypt’s 2025 parliamentary elections were expected to proceed seamlessly and uneventfully reflecting a relatively closed political environment and largely pre-determined electoral maps. But the landscape was upended less than 24 hours before results were due to be announced, when President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issued a sudden and highly unusual statement. In a brief message, Sisi said he had reviewed “incidents that occurred in certain districts” and called on the National Election Authority to examine the complaints with “the utmost attention and care.” The statement authorized the Authority to take any necessary measures — including the cancellation of the entire first phase of elections— if it was proved impossible that the process reflected “the true will of the voters.” Such wording is rare in the context of Egyptian elections and suggested that the scale of purported violations had exceeded what could be overlooked.
The following day, the Election Authority announced the annulment of individual-seat results in 19 out of 70 districts, one of the broadest cancellations in recent parliamentary history. The authority cited violations including campaigning outside polling stations, unjustified discrepancies between sub-committee and general-committee tallies, and the obstruction of some candidates or their representatives from obtaining official vote-count records. It also referenced a video showing an opened ballot box in Alexandria before voting ended, an incident that became emblematic of the irregularities that unfolded over the two-day poll — and that apparently prompted the presidency’s public intervention.
These developments are especially sensitive given the political context: the parliament now being elected will remain in tenure until 2030. That’s when President Sisi’s current term ends. Under the 2019 constitutional amendments, presidential terms were increased. Sisi thus was granted a third and final term under the current rules. More importantly, this new parliament will hold decisive power over any future constitutional changes, as Article 226 gives either the president or one-fifth of MPs the right to propose amendments — making this chamber the main vehicle for any potential adjustments to presidential powers or term limits in the coming years.
These political calculations intersect with the controversy over Egypt’s electoral system itself. The absolute closed-list system, which determines half of the chamber’s 568 seats (284 total), awards every seat in a district to the winning list, without proportional representation — even if the margin of victory is narrow. Because only one list was fielded — combining the main pro-government parties (“Nation’s Future,” “Homeland Defenders,” and “National Front”) — half the seats were effectively guaranteed before polling even began. Analysts criticize the system as producing what political literature calls a “rubber-stamp parliament,” lacking political diversity or meaningful opposition. By contrast, the individual-seat contests, the only real arena for competition, saw a sharp decline in candidates — from more than 5,000 in 2020 to 2,904 in 2025 — even as the number of eligible voters rose to about 69.3 million, a 10% increase. This contraction prompted prominent journalists such as Magdy al-Galad and Emad el-Din Hussein to speak openly of “engineered elections” and pre-arranged seat distributions, suggesting that genuine competition existed in perhaps only 20% of the individual constituencies.
As polling began, complaints poured in from multiple districts. Former MP Nashwa al-Deeb withdrew just one hour after voting started, saying that “the principle of equal opportunity no longer exists in any form.” In Alexandria, the viral video of the open ballot box fueled doubts about the integrity of procedures. Other candidates said their representatives were denied access to vote-count records in several districts — a direct violation of transparency rules. Criticism did not come only from opposition figures. Even within the pro-government media and political establishment, dissonant voices emerged. Journalist Ahmed el-Darriny described the first round as “a farce that had to be stopped.” Mohamed el-Garhy, deputy head of Egypt’s Journalists’ Syndicate, said the electoral process must “restore clear standards of integrity and hold every violator accountable.” Yasser Hassan, a member of the Wafd Party’s executive bureau, said what occurred resembled “a competition between state institutions themselves, not a political contest.” Meanwhile, MP and candidate Mostafa Bakry claimed that vote-buying had reached “2,000 pounds per vote,” with some contenders spending “millions of pounds” in certain districts — evidence, he said, of the vast sums circulating in the electoral scene.
From outside the immediate partisan landscape, veteran politician Hossam Badrawi, the last secretary-general of the dissolved National Democratic Party, expressed deep concern about Egypt’s political future. Badrawi said he would not vote for President Sisi for a fourth term and categorically rejected any new constitutional amendments to extend presidential tenure, calling those who advocate such moves “the grand hypocrites.” His remarks carried particular weight given his stature and background. While parties aligned with the National List praised the president’s statement as a “guarantee of integrity,” the irony was that these very parties had been central to engineering the electoral process — making it clear that the presidential message had even caught dominant forces off guard.
As the Election Authority begins implementing the annulments and organizing reruns in affected districts — scheduled for Egyptians abroad on December 24–25 and at home on December 27–28, with final results due January 4 — Egypt now prepares for the second phase of voting next week, which includes Cairo and the Delta provinces. The 2025 elections, marked by an unprecedented presidential statement, large-scale cancellations, and low voter turnout of just 23% in the first round, reveal a crisis that extends beyond election day itself. It is a crisis within the structure of Egypt’s political process — and a test of whether the electoral system can preserve even a minimal balance when subjected to unexpected pressure. With the election-day tensions and the debate over anticipated changes in Egypt’s governance, it is now clear that what is unfolding is not merely an election — but a genuine test of Egypt’s governing formula for the years ahead.
Ahmed Elfeky
Journalist and digital producer with experience in international and regional media, covering political affairs and managing cross-platform content.
