Egypt: Islamists Win 70% Of Seats

By

Egyptian Islamists have won more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats, almost half for the Muslim Brotherhood, according to official results published on Saturday for the first election since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Party of Freedom AND Justice (PLJ), won 235 seats out of 498, approximately 47%.

The Salafist party of Al-Nour came in second with 121 seats (24%)

The Liberal Wafd gained about 9% of the seats. The coalition of liberal parties won 7% of the seats. Ten additional seats will be filled by the head of military council, Marshal Hussein Tantawi. The new Parliament is responsible for drafting a new constitution. The PLJ has already announced it had chosen its secretary general, Saad al-Katatni, to chair the People’s Assembly, following an agreement with other parties. The first session of the new People’s Assembly will be held Monday in the presence of Tantawi.

A presidential election is expected before the end of June with the opening of nominations on April 15. The army has pledged to hand over power to civilians after a president is elected.

Al Bawaba News

Al Bawaba provides top stories and breaking news about the Middle East and the world. The Al Bawaba network consists of several web portals and media platforms.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *