Egypt’s Islamists Claim Early Election Lead

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

Egypt’s main Islamist group claimed an early lead as officials count ballots from parliamentary elections that offer the first test of the parties competing to run the country after the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Mohammed El-Beltagy, an official at the Freedom and Justice Party set up by the Brotherhood, said the party may have won at least 40 percent of votes counted so far. He didn’t say where he got the information. The first of three stages of parliamentary voting, covering about a third of the country, ended yesterday with officials and rights groups citing a higher-than-expected turnout and little violence. Results will be announced late tomorrow, state television said.

“These are the first real elections that Egypt has witnessed” in decades, said Gamal Eid, executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. “The most important thing is for this to be a free vote, regardless of who wins, as this will reflect the will of the people.”

The run-up to the election was marred by a week of clashes between security forces and protesters that left 43 people dead. Demonstrators accuse the ruling generals of stifling freedoms while failing to restore security or revive an economy growing at the slowest pace in more than a decade.

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Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-29/egyptians-await-initial-results-from-first-real-parliamentary-elections.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Commentery from Robert Fisk and an Egyptian editor

"The choice of Ganzouri was very nasty," Gamal says. "He intends to keep a third of the members of the old government and two of them – Hassan Younis, the Electricity Minister, and Faisal Naga, the Planning Minister – were Mubarak ministers. I think the people will return to Tahrir Square after the first voting results are announced.

"But what has happened is huge progress. Sure, people saw violations at the voting, but compared to what happened before, it was a great improvement. I am optimistic."

This isn't a widespread sentiment in Egypt right now. And if the Muslim Brotherhood wins the largest number of seats in the election, which they assuredly will, Gamal believes it will be under enormous pressure: from workers, from trade unions, from the US. Strikes, he says, will start again after the elections. "The Brotherhood will not change the tax policies, so they are against the poor. This will not balance the budget. I think they will fail. The economy is going to be crucial. Egypt makes lots of money through tourism. Will the Brotherhood support tourism?"

Already, new trade unions have been created, but a new workers' rights law has been refused by the army leadership. The labour ministry has told new unions they have to merge into the old syndicates. As for Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Gamal says he is ill, that he has no intention of becoming President although this might not apply to all members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the SCAF, which Egyptians call the Maglis el-Askleri (Military Council). The name of General Sami Amman floats around these days, although Gamal says, with a sense of relief, that "if there had been an ambitious, efficient member of the SCAF, we would have been in trouble."

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-real-fight-for-democracy-in-egypt-has-yet-to-begin-6270155.html

[BadtotheboneBob]

2. Democracy: Where voters get the leaders they deserve....

Good luck and best wishes, Egypt.

[Imajika]

3. Actually, it looks like the Islamists won even bigger than anticipated...

These people seem awfully regressive to me. What happened to the sorta hip, technology loving modernists dominating the media coverage in Tahir Square. Not only did the Muslim Brotherhood snag 40% of the vote, but the ultraconservative Salifi's got around 25% of the vote. Combined they will dominate - and these were just the elections in the supposed liberal areas.

Early Results in Egypt Show a Mandate for Islamists

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/world/middleeast/voting-in-egypt-shows-mandate-for-islamists.html?pagewanted=all

[rayofreason]

4. No surprise...

...to anyone who knows what is going on over there.

And it will get far worse. When Egypt is in the grips of a mass famine in 8 months the radicals will really have their opening. If I were a Copt, I'd be setting up my emergency escape route now.

[AngryAmish]

5. Who lost Egypt?

We all know the answer.