Many Egyptian voters shunned the first phase of a parliamentary election on October 18 that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has hailed as a milestone on the road to democracy but his critics have branded as a sham.
Polling stations visited by Reuters correspondents pointed to a turnout of around 10%, in sharp contrast to the long lines that formed in the 2012 election, suggesting that Sisi, who has enjoyed cult-like adulation, is losing popularity.
Elderly supporters of Sisi comprised a large proportion of those turning out to vote, while younger Egyptians boycotted an election for a chamber they say will just rubber-stamp the president's decisions.
The government declared a half-day holiday on October 19 for state workers, apparently hoping to encourage more voting.
Egypt has had no parliament since June 2012 when a court dissolved the democratically-elected main chamber, then dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, reversing a key accomplishment of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
In 2013 Sisi, then army chief, overthrew Egypt's first freely-elected president in 2013, the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, then launched the fiercest crackdown on dissent in Egypt's modern history. Human rights groups say Egypt has about 40,000 political prisoners, many of them supporters of Mursi.
Sisi secured support from other opposition groups for ousting Mursi by promising a prompt parliamentary vote.
The elections, repeatedly postponed, are now taking place over two rounds on Oct 18-19 and Nov 22-23.
This week, voters cast their ballots in 14 regions including Egypt's second city of Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast.
The unicameral parliament will comprise 568 elected members - 448 elected on an individual basis and 120 through winner-takes-all lists in four districts, with quotas for women, Christians and youth. The president may also appoint a further 5%. Final results expected in December.
