CAIRO - Hoping for a big turnout like that of the first round, Egyptians will take to the streets to vote in the second stage of the parliamentary polls on Wednesday and Thursday, amid expectations that Islamists will make more gains, especially the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). Voting takes place in nine governorates - Giza, Menoufia, Beheira, Suez, Ismailia, Sohag, Aswan, Sharqia and Beni Sueif - and the race is likely to be fiercely competitive. In the first round, the Islamists have won more than 60 per cent of the seats, with many political experts predicting that they will win more than this in the second stage. According to Egypt's Cabinet's Information and Decision-Support Centre (IDSC), 3,387 candidates - individuals and those on the party lists �" will contest 180 seats. Of these, 2,271 are individuals and they will vie for 60 seats. The FJP has biggest numbers of candidates (148), followed by Al-Wafd (118) and then the Salafist Al-Nur Party (114). The IDSC says that about 18.8 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in today's and tomorrow's elections, 1.3 million more than in the first stage. Giza has 4.2 million voters; Beheira, with five individual constituencies and two party list constituencies with 20 seats, 3.2 million voters; Sharqiya 3.4 million; and Menoufia 2.2 million. About 3.2 million people are eligible to vote in Sohag, which has four individual constituencies and two-party-list constituencies with 20 seats. About 852,000 have the right to vote in Aswan, which has two constituencies for individuals and party lists. It is reported that the 49.2 million citizens aged 18 or above are eligible to vote. According to the official Middle East News Agency (MENA), about 25,000 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are allowed to follow up on the elections, in addition to 800 Arab and foreign organisations. About 1,580 local and foreign media people will be covering the polls. Egyptian expats have finished voting with an impressive turnout of more than 80 per cent. Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Sameh Shoukri said the number of Egyptians in the US voting in the second stage of the parliamentary elections would probably be bigger than in the first. He added that the Egyptian Embassy will do the vote counting and then announce the final results in the presence of observers from the Egyptian community. The Judges' Club sent a memo on Tuesday to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), detailing the infringements that happened in the first stage of the elections. The memo suggested that judges should supervise polling stations in the areas where they live, to make it easier for them to arrive on time. It also said that the vote count should be held in branch constituencies, not in the general ones. Some judges in the State Council are refusing to supervise the elections, in protest at the Higher Election Commission's (HEC) inappropriate distribution of judges in polling stations. The deputy head of the State Council, Magdi el-Garhi, says that the Commission has assigned deputy heads of the Council to supervise the elections in polling substations, while the general polling stations have been assigned to junior deputies, including polling stations in the Giza neighbourhoods of Doqqi and Mohandiseen. Garhi has accused the HEC of poorly organising the electoral process, arguing that it isn't just and fair. It has been reported that the HEC has changed some of the senior judges at the polling stations. In a meeting on Monday, SCAF said that it is capable of securing the elections. Minister of Electricity Hassan Younes gave instructions to all electricity distribution companies in the nine governorates to ensure the power supply to all the polling stations and vote counting centres, telling them to lay on generators in case of a power cut. Younes also instructed officials to halt periodical maintenance during the voting and counting processes, while also cancelling all vacations for employees in the electricity sector. On Tuesday, the governors were busy with the last-minute preparations, to ensure the voting goes smoothly. Menoufia Governor Ashraf Shahin said that he had established a committee to take lawful procedures against candidates who violate the election rules, adding that he and the Gharbia Governor have prepared extra polling stations in case of need. The Ismailia Governor has completed all the necessary preparations, explaining that 50 per cent of employees in his Governorate can vote on the first day, then the rest on the second day. Meanwhile, high-profile Egyptian Islamic preacher Mohamed Hassaan has called on the Islamist forces to co-operate in the near future to achieve their objectives. He described the Sharia (Islamic Law) as a moderate and open system. But he warned that the Islamic groups are facing fierce opposition.
