Parliamentary elections underway in Egypt

Egyptians were to vote Sunday for a parliament expected to firmly back President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has crushed all opposition since ousting his Islamist predecessor in 2013, according to Agence France-Presse.

"It's really a parliament that is not expected to be revolutionary or reformist," political analyst Hazem Hosni said, as reported by AFP.

Many Egyptians tired of political turmoil since the 2011 ouster of veteran leader Hosni Mubarak support Sisi, who has vowed to revive an ailing economy and restore stability amid a deadly crackdown targeting supporters of Mubarak's Islamist successor.

The constitution empowers parliament to move a no-confidence motion against the president and also gives lawmakers 15 days to review all presidential decrees.

But the vote is being held in the absence of any real opposition and has inspired none of the enthusiasm of the first post-Mubarak polls in 2011.

The Muslim Brotherhood movement that dominated the last assembly has been banned, while the leftist and secular movements that led the 2011 uprising are boycotting or are badly represented in the polls.

The much-delayed vote for the 596-member parliament — the previous assembly was dissolved in June 2012 — is to be staged in two phases between October 17 and December 2.

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