THE MUSLIM Brotherhood and ultra-orthodox Salafi parties were yesterday leading the field in a partial count of votes from the first phase of Egypt’s parliamentary poll.
The brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party claimed it had taken 40 per cent of the votes after most districts had reported all or 90 per cent of results.
If the trend is borne out by the final count, due to be announced today, and by results in the two coming rounds, the Freedom and Justice Party could be the largest in the 498-seat people’s assembly. However, it faces stiff competition from more radical Salafi fundamentalists suppressed under the ousted Mubarak regime.
Although the Freedom and Justice Party seems to have taken the lion’s share in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt’s two largest cities, as well as Luxor and Port Said on the Suez Canal, the Salafi Noor Party has emerged in second place and the moderate fundamentalist Wasat Party in third place in many constituencies.
While today’s results will be final for seats contested on a proportional basis by party lists and alliances, many contests among individuals are set to be decided in a run-off scheduled for December 5th.
The brotherhood, founded in 1928, is the country’s largest and most influential socio-religious movement which claims millions as members and can mobilise thousands of volunteers for its charitable and welfare work among the 40 per cent of the population that lives below the poverty line.
Banned but tolerated under the ousted Mubarak regime, the brotherhood won 20 per cent of seats in parliament in the 2005 election but won none in last year’s assembly poll due to manipulation by the ruling National Democratic Party.
While its long history, solid popular following, and organisational superiority have contributed to the brotherhood’s success so far, Samir, a Coptic Christian, quipped: “The uneducated vote for the brotherhood. It says God wants them to vote for Freedom and Justice.” Presidential candidate Amr Moussa said the unprecedented 70 per cent turnout in the first round polling on Monday and Tuesday demonstrated that the “revolution” that ousted the Mubarak regime last February had succeeded.