The vote-buying business enjoyed a boom on Election Day, with a number of parliamentary candidates attempting to lure would-be voters with gifts. In the Cairo districts of Nasr City and Heliopolis, Petroleum Minister and National Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Sameh Fahmi handed out breakfast meals, t-shirts and LE200 each to local voters. Meanwhile, supporters of Administrative Development Minister and NDP candidate Abdel-Salam Mahgoub--who is competing for the professionals' seat in Alexandria--assembled in front of polling stations in the Al-Raml district to hand out gifts to potential voters. Businessman and Wafd Party candidate Rami Lakah, who is competing for the professionals' seat in Cairo's Shubra district against former State Security officer and NDP candidate Fadi al-Habashi, reportedly offered residents an unprecedented LE800 per vote, the highest price recorded so far in this year's parliamentary polls. According to political observers, prices per vote vary depending on the electoral district. In Cairo's low-income Dar al-Salaam and Basateen districts, for example, votes can reportedly be purchased from university students for LE20, and for up to LE200 for older voters. In the Omraniya and Haram districts, meanwhile, in which standards of living are generally higher, votes have reportedly been purchased for LE500 in some cases, with prices rising further as Election Day draws to a close. According to local news reports, votes have also been obtained in exchange for Viagra pills and mobile phones.
