In a highly unusual and seemingly unprecedented move, Egypt’s National Elections Authority (NEA) voided the results for individual seats in 19 electoral constituencies across seven governorates on Tuesday. The sweeping decision, which followed the first phase of the House of Representatives elections, cited evidence of widespread “fundamental defects” that compromised the integrity of the vote.
The decision, announced by NEA Chairman Hazem Badawi at a press conference, follows a public directive from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for the authority to investigate appeals and cancel results where the true will of the voters could not be guaranteed.
Badawi specified that the Authority’s board, acting under Article 54 of the Political Rights Law, found major violations including campaign breaches near polling centers, candidates, or their agents being denied official copies of the vote count protocols, and vote discrepancies between sub-committees and general count committees. The NEA stressed it “was never separate from the heartbeat of the Egyptian people” and is committed to protecting the right to vote.
Extensive Voiding of Individual Races
The NEA ordered the full cancellation of the individual-seat voting across 19 constituencies and scheduled a re-run of these elections for Dec. 3-4 for domestic voters. The cancellations were distributed across seven governorates.
Qena was the most affected, with elections canceled entirely across all its constituencies. Sohag saw extensive voiding in seven constituencies: Sohag Center, Akhmim, Maragha, Tahta, Girga, Al-Mansha’a, and Dar Al-Salam. In Fayoum, the First and Fourth Constituencies (Ebsheway Center) were canceled, while Assiut lost the Third Constituency (Al-Fath Center). Beheira had three cancellations: the First Constituency (Damanhour), the Third Constituency (Abu Homs Center), and the Eighth Constituency (Itay El Baroud Center). In the Delta region, the NEA also voided the Second Constituency (Al-Raml) in Alexandria.
The cancellation in Giza includes the Imbaba and Al-Munira Al-Gharbeya constituency, where former MP Nashwa Eldeeb withdrew on election morning in protest of what she called a lack of integrity and predetermined seats.
Eldeeb welcomed the re-run, telling Al Manassa that “People are happy that their right won’t be lost,” and confirmed she would restart her campaign.
The NEA did not void the entire First Constituency of Alexandria (Montazah), despite a high-profile case where a candidate alleged ballot boxes were opened and emptied. Instead, the NEA upheld the general committee’s decision to void only the votes from the specific sub-committee involved.
Al Manassa reporters covering the two-day vote documented several of the irregularities that prompted the cancellations. In Giza, this included the bussing of voters and the use of artificial queues outside polling centers in constituencies like Dokki and Boulaq al-Dakrour.
The reporters also observed direct evidence of transactional voting, as voters visited campaign headquarters for independent candidates Gergis Lawandi and El-Sayed Zaghloul to allegedly receive payment in exchange for casting ballots.
Furthermore, multiple young people in Giza claimed they were forced to remain in queues since early morning and were unable to leave because security personnel had collected their national ID cards.
List results
Despite the voiding of individual races, the NEA officially confirmed the victory of the National List for Egypt coalition in the two list-based sectors for which the first phase was held. In the Upper Egypt Sector, the list secured 5.59 million votes out of 6.08 million total voters, representing a 91% approval rate, with voter turnout standing at 23.37%. In the West Delta Sector, the list secured 1.67 million votes, where turnout was 24.23%.
In a related development, the Judges’ Club of Egypt released a statement confirming that judges and public prosecution members did not oversee the recent parliamentary elections, in adherence to constitutional provisions.
The club, however, praised President El-Sisi's directives to the NEA, viewing them as a reflection of “the state's commitment to electoral integrity and transparency.”
Badawi stressed that the Authority is committed to protecting the Egyptian people's right to vote and will adhere to principles of justice, equality, and transparency.
