With parliamentary elections being held in Egypt for the first time in more than three years, one might hope the most famous citizenry of the Arab Spring would have come out in droves. Yet, estimates of voter turnout for the first phase of the election were incredibly low, with non-governmental sources reporting turnout hovering around 2% of the electorate. Even the highly-contested government figure of 27% represents a significant drop from the 62% turnout rate in the previous parliamentary election.

The low voter turnout is not for a lack of trying. The government gave Egyptians public sector employees a half-day on the second day of voting to encourage Egyptians to come to the polls. Instead, many Egyptians expressed their profound disdain for the government by showing up at a stadium to support a popular Cairo soccer team-at a training session

Still, it’s hard to blame Egyptian citizens for their disinterest in the elections. To call them free or fair would be, at best, gravely inaccurate. In the 2011 parliamentary elections, voting blocs led by the Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafist Al-Nour party picked up a combined 65% of the vote. Yet, since the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization two years ago, the Freedom and Justice Party has been banned. The government has since implemented a number of policies aimed at reducing the influence of religion in politics, including bans on religious slogans, parties, and imams running for political office. Still, the Al-Nour Party, which avoided the ban by arguing it was not a religious party but a social movement, was badly crippled by campaigns against religious parties and internal divisions. The party did not pick up a single seat in this round of elections, a far cry from the 83 seats in 2011.

Even reforms which appear neutral on face have been criticized as unfairly limiting the ability of parties to run. For instance, coalitions now have a diversity requirement, mandating that parties competing in 15-seat districts have seven women, three Christians, two farmers or workers, two youth, one Egyptian living abroad, and one disabled citizen on their electoral lists. The numbers are tripled for 45-seat districts. While some support the initiative to increase diversity in the parliament, others argue the measure actually harms smaller parties.

The biggest issue of all, though, might be the parties in the election. All four coalitions running electoral lists are overwhelmingly supportive of the Sisi regime. This is partially due to the reforms mentioned above, but also because parties which enjoyed large amounts of support in the previous election, such as the Al-Dostor party, have boycotted the election in protest, leaving Egyptians who vote no choice but to support the regime.

It should be briefly noted that many of these issues affect only party-based elections, and only 120 of Egypt’s 567 seat parliament will be filled by party-affiliated candidates. The vast majority of seats are allocated to independents running independent of parties. Yet this system has its own problems. The setup is more advantageous for candidates with larger amounts of organization or stronger tribal ties. In theory, such a law is neutral. In practice, though, it primarily helps candidates with ties to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, the best organized group in the aftermath of the Muslim Brotherhood’s oppression.

With the removal of prominent political parties, significant electoral restrictions, and overwhelmingly pro-Sisi parties, it’s clear these parliamentary elections are designed not to give Egyptians a chance to voice their opinions. Without any opposition, the parliament is poised to become a rubber stamp for Sisi’s policies.