Egypt voters trickle in to elect new pro-Sisi parliament

Egyptians trickled in to polling stations Sunday to elect a new parliament that will tighten President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's grip on power after he crushed all opposition since ousting his Islamist predecessor.

 The vote for the much-delayed 596-member parliament is being staged in two phases ending on December 2, with Egyptians abroad casting their votes for the first round from Saturday.

 But with an absence of opposition parties -- including the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood that has faced a deadly government crackdown overseen by Sisi -- polling has inspired none of the enthusiasm witnessed for Egypt's first democratic elections in 2011.

 Experts say the outcome of the election is a foregone conclusion and only voter turnout will be a gauge of popularity for Sisi, who has enjoyed a cult-like status since he toppled his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

 Voting was listless in the first few hours in 14 of the 27 provinces where polling is being held over two days.

 "It's expected to rise by the end of the day as many voters are working," said Refaat Komsan, an adviser to the prime minister.

 "Also as temperatures fall, we expect voters to come out and vote."

 Electoral commission spokesman Omar Marwan said participation of women voters was "four times more" than men during the first part of the day.

 Most of the more than 5,000 candidates overwhelmingly support Sisi and are expected to dominate parliament.

 Cairo resident Islam Ahmed, who said he would not be voting, was unmoved by polling getting underway.

 "I think the turnout will be low. I don't know any candidate in my constituency... many people don't know candidates in their constituencies," he said.

 Hazem Hosny, political science professor at Cairo University, said: "This parliament will be a parliament of the president.

 "It's really a parliament... to keep things as they are, to give an image of democracy."