|
|
A woman shouts slogans against the Egyptian military council at Cairo’s Tahrir Square last week. (Reuters)
|
Cairo, Jan. 22: Egyptian authorities have confirmed that a political coalition dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, the 84-year-old group that virtually invented political Islam, has won about 47 per cent of the seats in the first parliament elected since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.
An alliance of ultraconservative Islamists won the next largest share of seats, about 25 per cent.
The military council leading Egypt since Mubarak lost power in February has said it will keep parliament in a subordinate role with little real power until the ratification of a constitution and the election of a President, both scheduled for completion by the end of June.
But the council has assigned parliament the authority to choose the 100 members of a constitutional Assembly, so it may shape Egypt for decades to come, although the military council has sometimes tried to influence that process.
The election results were expected because of preliminary tallies after each of the three phases of the vote, but the confirmation comes in time for the seating of parliament on Monday.
The tally, with the two groups of Islamists together winning about 70 per cent of the seats, indicates the deep cultural conservatism of the Egyptian public, which is expressing its will through free and fair elections for the first time in more than six decades.
But the two groups have described very different visions and appear to be rivals rather than collaborators. The Brotherhood has said it intends to respect personal liberties and will focus on economic and social issues, gradually nudging the culture toward its conservative values.
By contrast, the ultraconservatives known as Salafis, put a higher priority on legislation on Islamic moral issues, like the consumption of alcohol, women’s dress and the contents of popular culture.
Among the remaining roughly 30 per cent of parliamentary seats, the next largest share was won by the Wafd Party, a liberal party recognised under Mubarak and with roots dating to Egypt’s colonial period.
It was trailed by a coalition known as the Egyptian Bloc. It included the Free Egyptians, a business-friendly liberal party founded by a Coptic Christian businessman, Naguib Sawiris, and favoured by many members of the country’s Coptic Christian minority, about 10 per cent of the public.
A coalition of parties founded by the young leaders of the revolt that unseated Mubarak won only a few per cent of the seats.
Western democracies should overcome their aversion to Islamist groups that enjoy popular support in North Africa and West Asia and encourage them to respect basic rights, Human Rights watch has said.
Saleh leaves for US
Outgoing Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh has apologised for “any shortcoming” in his 33-year rule before for the US today, paving the way for a transfer of power after a year of unrest.
|
