Egypt votes in second phase of parliamentary polls

Cairo: Egyptians on Sunday began voting in the second phase of the country's first parliamentary elections since former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted in 2013.

Polling stations opened in 13 of Egypt's 27 governorates, Al Ahram news reported.

Voters in the remaining 14 governorates had cast their votes in October, with the total turnout reaching 26.5 percent, according to the High Elections Committee (HEC). 

A total of 55,606,578 are eligible to vote in the elections - 27,402,353 were eligible to vote during the first stage and 28,204,225 are eligible in the second phase, which will continue unil Monday.

A total of 282 parliamentary seats will be up for grabbing in the second stage, with 222 seats for independent candidates and 60 seats allocated to party-based lists.

The 222 independents will be elected from 102 constituencies, and the 60 party-based members will be elected in two separate constituencies, one which holds 45 seats and the other 15. 

Egyptian expats began voting on Saturday in diplomatic missions around the world.

Egypt's parliament - the House of Representatives - will comprise 596 members, 448 elected as independents and 120 from party-based lists. The remaining 28 seats will be filled by presidential appointments.

The last parliament, which was elected in late 2011, months after the ouster of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak, was dissolved in June 2012 due to the unconstitutionality of an election law.