EgyptVotes

His friends and acquaintances call him Abqarino – the Arabised name of Disney character Gyro Gearloose – probably because of technological expertise. His small flat in the Karmouz slum is a makeshift control room for "alternative media."

While calls for civil disobedience on 11 February found receptive ears among many of Matrouh's youth, the older generation rejected them, even though some agreed with the goals behind the call for disobedience. The Salafi movement, which represents the most prominent political force in the governorate, rejected these calls and vowed to punish those who engaged in civil disobedience.

Repeated gas line attacks have left Sinai residents between a rock and a hard place. Some people sympathise with the explosions which halt gas supplies to Israel, while others link these attacks to other manifestations of the security vacuum in the governorate, considering them part of a foreign agenda to make it seem like Sinai is outside the control of the Egyptian state.

Despite their diverse ideologies, members of parliament in Fayoum – ranging from the MPs of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) (the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB)) and the Salafi Nour Party, to those from the popular alliance known as the Revolution Continues, as well as the Freedom Party, which includes remnants of the dissolved NDP – are willing to ally over some issues.

A relative neglect of women has been the common denominator among all the parties in parliamentary elections. For the most part, the number of female candidates on party lists has not exceeded the legal minimum of one candidate – and usually this one candidate occupies the bottom of the list, leaving her with a slim chance of victory.