Three parliamentary candidates have now withdrawn from Egypt’s 2025 parliamentary runoff elections citing direct violations in the recent days of vote-buying, security interference, and organized voter manipulation.
The latest withdrawal came on Thursday, when Ayman Fathi Al-Brens, an independent candidate in the working-class constituency of Sharabiya and Al-Zawiya Al-Hamra in Cairo, announced his exit in a short video message. “Everyone saw the violations,” he said. “I spoke up, but it made no difference.”
Al-Brens, who had earlier accused his opponent, independent candidate and former MP Omar Watany of the pro-government Nation’s Future Party, of using financial incentives to influence voters under the watch of state agencies, adding, “In the end, political money won.”
Al-Brens had previously threatened to quit the race due to what he called “brazen vote-buying” and the arrest of his campaign staff.
In Qalyubia’s Toukh and Qaha district, another candidate, Hesham Al-Zuhairi of the pro-state Homeland Defenders Party, also stepped down Thursday morning. Al-Zuhairi released a video stating that on election day, he was “shocked to find money and ID cards being handed out inside and outside polling stations,” suggesting organized vote-buying in support of his rival, Nation’s Future candidate Mostafa Al-Nafili.
Al-Zuhairi noted that although his party was officially allied with the state, the machinery of support was being exclusively directed toward Nation’s Future. “Despite the pressure to vote directly for their candidates, we made it to the runoff,” he said.
His withdrawal came less than 24 hours after a similar announcement from Heshmat Abu Hagar, a current MP from Basateen and Dar Al-Salaam district in Cairo, who is running as an independent. Abu Hagar accused his opponent, Nation’s Future candidate Mahmoud Al-Sheikh, of receiving illegal support and said his own supporters had been arrested.
“I can’t continue under these circumstances,” Abu Hagar told Al Manassa, saying he filed formal complaints regarding the distribution of voter coupons and cash bribes.
Despite these withdrawals, the National Elections Authority has confirmed that none will affect the runoff process. All three candidates submitted their decisions after the official October 25 deadline for legal withdrawal.
The 55-district runoff has been plagued by widespread reports of vote-buying, particularly in Cairo, Al Manassa field reporting confirmed. In stark contrast to the bustling first-round turnout—where some polling places featured choreographed crowds and staged enthusiasm—the capital’s voting centers now stood mostly deserted.
In several districts, election bribes replaced campaign posters. Outside polling stations in Basateen, Dar Al-Salaam, and Al-Zawiya, volunteers handed out small white cards bearing no logos—only polling details—while others held dozens of national ID cards and directed voters to laptops.
At one makeshift tent labeled “Know Your Polling Station, Your Vote is a Trust,” young men in color-coded vests directed elderly voters and shepherded them to waiting microbuses. One woman, sitting on a wooden cane outside Mohamed Naguib school, said she came to vote “for candidate number one,” referring to Mahmoud Al-Sheikh.
Inside the polling centers, turnout was weak, and most party delegates were not wearing official election badges. No candidate posters were visible. Security was notably absent in some areas, especially outside Nahdet Masr Preparatory School in Sharabiya, where more than 50 young men on motorcycles and tuktuks coordinated voter transport.
Local shopkeepers told Al Manassa that the men were working for Omar Watany, while rumors spread that they were also paying 200 Egyptian pounds per vote.
In Matariya district, candidate Mohamed Zahran decried “ongoing violations from round one,” including systematic use of tuktuks to ferry voters and distribute bribes. “We’ve reported it to the police and will continue to document everything,” he said.
A new method also emerged there. Voters were reportedly given barcoded cards with serial numbers before entering polling stations. After voting, they returned the cards to handlers in exchange for 200–300 Egyptian pounds. The system appears designed to track individual votes in exchange for cash, effectively industrializing the bribery process.
In Al-Mokattam, schools like Shahid Mohamed Abu Shaqra and Al-Mokattam Secondary remained eerily quiet. For half an hour, only one voter entered. “I never miss an election,” he told Al Manassa. “God entrusted me with this vote.”
In an afternoon update, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of over 60 individuals nationwide on charges of distributing cash to voters in exchange for ballots. Between 1–4 pm alone, the ministry published 30 statements detailing violations in Cairo, Sharqiya, Menoufiya, Dakahliya, Suez, and other governorates.
The first round of phase two saw just 40 candidates secure seats—only four of them independents. The remaining 202 candidates are now contesting 101 seats in the runoff.
Before voting resumed, previous withdrawals had also been reversed candidates like Kamel Al-Dali and Ahmed Mortada Mansour in Giza, and Amr Qattami in 6 October, had initially announced exits, only to rejoin the race after political pressure.
