An Egyptian soldier guards as Egyptians wait to cast their votes during parliamentary elections, outside a polling station in Cairo November 28, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Egyptians went to the polls on Monday in the first phase of elections for the People's Assembly, the lower house of the parliament, the first since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak in February.

The voting started at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) in Cairo, Alexandria, Fayoum, Port Said, Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, Assiut, Luxor and the Red Sea, nine out of Egypt's 27 governorates.

Several hundred voters lined up outside many poll stations in Cairo for vote. The vote will last for two days in order to achieve a high turnout.

Three helicopters were seen hovering above Cairo to monitor the situation.

At a polling station near Cairo's Tahrir Square, voters queued up from inside the building to the street. Police and soldiers jointly worked to ensure the order.

"I hope the election will be fair and transparent," Shaina, a female waiting to vote, told Xinhua. She said she would cast her vote to support a political bloc.

The People's Assembly polls are held over three stages, each with a run-off one week after the vote.

About 17 million eligible voters will head to 3,809 polling stations in the nine governorates in the first stage. Around 2,357 independent candidates will contest 57 seats, while 1,452 party candidates will compete for 112 seats.

The second stage starts on Dec. 14 and the third stage on Jan. 3. The final results are expected to be announced by Jan. 13.

Egypt now has about 50 political parties, double the number before Mubarak's fall. Some 590 party lists and 6,591 independents will contest the seats of the People's Assembly. Some 272 party lists and 2,036 independents will contest the seats at the Shura Council, the upper house of the parliament. Each party list has four to eight candidates.

The parliamentary polls are supposed to help shape the political landscape of the country. Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling military council, on Sunday called citizens to cast votes.