Egypt opens the third round of voting for the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday after Islamist parties performed strongly in the previous rounds last month.

The vote is the latest step in a tense and complex process meant to move Egypt toward a more representative form of government after the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak in February

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has led Egypt's government since Mubarak's fall. It has said it will hand over power to a new government once one is in place.

But the transition has not been quick or transparent enough for some Egyptians. A series of protests in Cairo last month resulted in violent and sometimes deadly clashes between demonstrators and the country's armed forces.

The unrest appeared to have largely stemmed from a stretch of assaults by police and defiant protests by demonstrators demanding that Egypt's ruling military cede power to a civilian government.