Egyptians head to poll station on Wednesday in the third stage of elections that have been marred by deadly clashes between security forces and anti-military protesters.

Egyptians head to poll station on Wednesday in the third stage of elections that have been marred by deadly clashes between security forces and anti-military protesters.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) of the country's 27 provinces.
The run-off in the second round of legislative polls, which takes place over two days, will see the two largest Islamic parties (Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi party al-Nour) head to head for 59 seats of the lower house.

Another round of the poll is to be held in early January. The procedure to elect a full assembly ends in March. Presidential elections are expected by the end of June.

The poll is the first step toward democracy following the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.
It comes amid growing calls for the ruling military to step down and allow the next parliament to form a national unity government that takes over the reins of power until a new president is elected before the end of June.

The death toll of the deadly crackdown on protesters in Tahrir square, the epicenter of the demonstrations, has reached 14, with injured people could be numbered by hundreds.

Deadly clashes that erupted on Friday pitting troops and police against protesters demanding an end to military rule have piled pressure on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), with liberals and Islamic parties uniting to condemn its handling of the transition.

On Tuesday, the military apologized for attacks on female demonstrators that had prompted local and international outrage.