LEAD: Turnout appears low in vote for Egypt's lower house

Jan 29, 2012, 14:30 GMT

Cairo - Voters in 13 of Egypt's 27 governorates Sunday tuned out in seemingly small numbers to cast ballots in the first stage of election for the largely advisory Shura Council or the upper house of parliament, according to monitor and media reports.

Footage on state television showed polling stations in several electoral districts with very few voters.

The stations are scheduled to close at 7 pm (1700GMT) and re-open at 8 am (0600GMT) on Monday for the second day of the first stage.

The second and final stage in the remaining governorates is set for February 14.

'Electoral districts are too wide for contenders to cover,' said Ahmed Galal, a senior official of the moderate Islamist Al Wasat Party in the Delta province of Menufiya.

'In addition, the Shura Council has no strong powers,' he said.

Al Wasat Sunday quit the race for Menufiya's seats a few hours after the polling began.

The vote in several provinces was marred by illegal canvassing, mainly from the Muslim Brotherhood and the ultra-conservative Salafist Al Nour Party, reported monitors from the One World, a non-governmental organisation.

Those two parties together secured more than two thirds of the lower house of parliament in landmark elections that ended in mid-January.

More than 2,600 candidates, mainly Islamists, are vying for 90 seats up for grabs in the first stage of the Shura Council vote.

The council has limited powers, but its elected members will join the lower house of parliament in selecting a constituent assembly that will be tasked with drafting a new constitution for Egypt.

The council is composed of 270 members. Two thirds are directly elected, while the remaining third are appointed by the head of the state.

Several opposition politicians have recently argued that the Shura Council should be abolished and that the time set aside for elections to the council would be better used by pulling forward presidential polls, currently set for June. That, they say, would expedite the military rulers' transfer of power to a civilian administration.

The military has been ruling Egypt since a popular revolt forced former president Hosny Mubarak to step down last February.