Egypt's National Election Commission announced the final results of the parliamentary elections last night, according to which pro-government parties won almost all the seats in parliament, Agence France-Presse reported.
The second and last day of voting in the second phase of the parliamentary elections was November 25 last year.
In the most populous country in the Arab world, elections are held under a combined electoral system: nearly half of the seats are distributed proportionally based on party lists, and the other half are won on an individual basis, AFP reports.
In addition, 5 percent of the deputies are appointed directly by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and a quarter of the seats are reserved for women.
In the personal candidacies, representatives of the three main parties in the pro-government coalition "National List for Egypt" won approximately 27% of the seats, or 164 out of a total of 596, according to results announced by the National Election Commission.
The majority of the remaining parliamentary seats went to smaller parties or independent candidates who are also considered close to the government.
"The "National List for Egypt" consists of 12 political parties, the three main ones being the ruling "Mostaqbal Watan" ("Future of the Nation") party, the "Humat al-Watan" party and the National Front Party, founded in December 2024 by a former minister with the financial support of businessman Ibrahim al-Organi, close to President Sisi.
The election commission annulled the results in more than 30 constituencies where a second round of voting was organized, AFP reported.
Voting has begun in the second phase of the parliamentary elections in Myanmar, which are being held in three stages, Agence France-Presse reported.
Polling stations opened at 6:00 a.m. local time (01:30 a.m. Bulgarian time). Voting is also underway in Kawthaung, the constituency of former Myanmar leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a military coup in 2021 and is in prison, AFP reported.
Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been dissolved.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party, considered the civilian wing of the ruling military junta, won nearly 90% of the seats in the lower house of parliament after the first phase of voting on December 28 last year.
The first two phases of voting cover 202 of Myanmar's 330 townships. The third phase will take place in 63 municipalities on January 25.
The vote was organized by the junta led by General Min Aung Hlaing and has been widely criticized by the international community, AFP notes.
With a population of about 50 million people, Burma is torn by civil war. Voting is not taking place in large areas controlled by the rebels.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call early parliamentary elections, the leader of the Japanese Restoration Party (JRP) Hirofumi Yoshimura said today, Reuters reported.
The head of the JRP, which is a coalition partner of Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), made the statement following reports of such a possibility in Japanese media. They say the prime minister is considering calling a snap election next month.
A vote like this would allow Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, to capitalize on her high popularity ratings since taking office last October.
Her tough stance on China has won her approval among right-wing voters but has also sparked a bitter diplomatic row with Beijing.
Yoshimura told public broadcaster NHK that he met with Takaichi on Friday and was impressed that her view of the timing of the election had entered a "new phase."
"I wouldn't be surprised if she makes the decision that is being talked about in the media," the leader of the ruling party said. Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday, citing government sources, that Takaichi was considering a snap election on February 5 or 18.
Yoshimura said he and the prime minister had not discussed a specific date for the vote.