Egypt's first free election in six decades is unfolding in three stages until January. Even then, the generals who stepped in when an uprising toppled Mubarak in February will not hand power to civilians until after a presidential vote in mid-2012.
The pragmatic Muslim Brotherhood, its hard-line Salafi rivals and a moderate faction won about two thirds of party-list votes in the first round. But the Brotherhood has signaled it wants a broad coalition, not a narrow Islamist front, in an assembly whose main task is to choose a body to draft a new constitution.
As in the earlier round, voting on Wednesday was largely peaceful but a polling station on Cairo's outskirts was shut when a gunfight erupted between supporters of rival candidates, a security source said. No one was killed. Seven people were detained by security forces deployed to restore calm.
"This is the first time our vote counts," said Fatma Sayed, a government employee voting in Suez, east of Cairo, recalling the routinely rigged elections of the 30-year Mubarak era. "We want to retain our rights."
The military will still appoint the government, but the next Parliament will have legislative powers. It will also pick a 100-strong assembly to write a constitution that will define Egypt's political framework after decades of autocratic rule.
The constitution is already the focus of a tussle between Egypt's newly assertive political class and the ruling generals, and may also become a battleground for Islamists and liberals.
The army-backed Cabinet sparked violent protests that killed 42 people last month after it sought to insert articles to shield the military from any future civilian oversight. That fueled suspicions that the army wants to cling to power even after the presidential poll now expected in June.
The first round of the parliamentary election was marred by many electoral violations, such as parties campaigning outside polling stations or the late arrival of ballots. One district will hold a re-run after ballots were damaged or lost.
The committee supervising the poll noted irregularities in the first round but said they were not serious enough to undermine the result and would be addressed in future rounds.
