Egyptians flock to polls for Senate run-off elections in five governorates

CAIRO - 27 August 2025: Numerous Egyptians headed to polling stations on Wednesday to cast their ballots in the run-off round of the 2025 Senate elections, with five seats still up for grabs.

Polls opened at 9 a.m. across five Egyptian governorates for the Senate election run-off, supervised by judicial authorities and set to extend to Thursday.

Ten candidates are contesting the five remaining seats in Gharbia, Ismailia, Beni Suef, Luxor, and New Valley.

Election officials from the State Lawsuits Authority and Administrative Prosecution took charge of 1,367 polling stations early Wednesday, inspecting supplies and securing ballot boxes with coded plastic seals, state's news agency MENA reported.

Police forces have been deployed to safeguard polling centers and ensure a secure voting environment, with voting scheduled from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The National Election Authority earlier announced the conclusion of overseas voting in 117 countries, held at 136 Egyptian diplomatic missions.

The run-off follows the first round of the 2025 Senate elections, held on 1-2 August for Egyptian expats and on 4-5 August for locals inside the country, during which 195 seats of 200 seats up for grabs in the election were successfully decided.

The elections are being held with an even split: 100 individual seats and 100 seats allocated through a closed-list system.

The National Unified List, the only closed party in the elections, won all 100 party list seats unopposed, having met the requirement of securing at least 5% of the vote.

More than 50% of the list is composed of candidates from the Mostaqbal Watan (Future of the Homeland) Party and Homat Al-Watan (Guardians of the Homeland) Party, both known for their support of national institutions and policies.

In the individual seat contests, 95 candidates won in the first round, including 81 from the same two parties.