CAIRO, 28 November 2005 — Egypt’s opposition Muslim Brotherhood claimed further gains yesterday in the latest round of parliamentary elections despite attempts by police to bar access to polling stations, in a new blow to the regime.
The fourth day of the month-long polls also saw growing discontent among the country’s respected judges, who accused President Hosni Mubarak’s regime of refusing to play the democratic game.
The Muslim Brotherhood won 29 seats in the second round of the second phase that took place Saturday in Alexandria and other Islamist strongholds in the Nile Delta region, said the movement’s number two, Mohammad Habib.
After major gains in the first three rounds, the latest sweep brings the tally for the officially banned movement to 75 or a quarter of the 302 seats contested so far, five times its tally in the outgoing parliament.
Early results showed that Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) grabbed 75 seats in the latest round, bringing its total so far to 195. Official second phase results were expected later yesterday or today and six seats will be contested in re-runs after the judiciary decided to annul voting in three constituencies.
With one more phase to go, the dominance of the NDP is not at risk but it will for the first time face a substantial opposition bloc in parliament.
“This is the beginning of a new phase in the history of Egypt, the voice of the opposition will be heard,” Brotherhood spokesman Issam Al-Aryan said.
Saturday’s voting confirmed the demise of the secular opposition, with the defeat of veteran former leader of the Marxist Tagammu party Khaled Mohieddin, one of the last two surviving Free Officers who led the 1952 revolution. Among the losers was also the vice-chairman of the NDP Yusef Wali. The Muslim Brotherhood fielded only a third of the maximum 444 candidates presented by the NDP nationwide.
The country’s judges vented their frustration on the fourth day of polling, accusing the regime to obstructing the process and seeking to forge results.
