CAIRO: Egypt said Thursday the country’s new Parliament will convene on Jan. 10.

The first parliamentary election since the army ousted President Muhammad Mursi in July 2013 was held in two phases between Oct. 17 and Dec. 2, and saw a turnout of 28.3 percent.

“President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has called for the Parliament to convene on Jan. 10,” presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef told AFP.

Analysts say the new 596-member Parliament is expected to rubber-stamp government decisions in the absence of the main opposition, Mursi’s now blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

All party list seats went to the For Love of Egypt coalition, an alliance of parties and groups that support Sissi. The individual seats went to a mix of party-affiliated candidates and independents.

The new assembly will also include 28 members appointed by Sissi on Thursday.

Sissi remains popular with many who say a strong man is needed at Egypt’s helm.

Sissi, the former army chief who ousted Mursi and then won presidential elections in 2014, had promised the parliamentary election as the last stage in a return to democracy after toppling his predecessor.