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Egypt Islamists surge in vote

February 26, 2012

Islamists secured a majority of seats in polls for the Egyptian upper house of parliament, the electoral commission said Saturday, capping the landmark rise of Islamist parties in the post-revolution period.

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An Egyptian bedouin casts his vote in a school used as a voting center in El-Sheikh Zouied city
Image: Reuters

The Muslim Brotherhood, banned under former President Hosni Mubarak, won 58 percent of the seats up for grabs, solidifying their place as the country's most powerful and organized political group.

The ultra-conservative Al-Nour party finished second with around a quarter of the seats, while the more liberal parties, among them the Egyptian Bloc and Wafd, finished third with a total of 12 percent of seats.

Two thirds of the 270 seats in the upper house, or Shura Council, are filled by elections, while the rest are appointed.

Islamist parties also dominated the lower house elections earlier this year, in which the Muslim Brotherhood won nearly half of the seats on offer.

Members of both houses of parliament will now choose a panel to draft a new constitution.

Meanwhile, talks are underway in Cairo to resolve the detention and impending trial of dozens of NGO workers, including Americans and Germans. US officials have hinted that the trial, which was due to begin Sunday, could endanger aid to Egypt.

Officials said it was hoped the issue could be resolved "within days."

Egypt is still struggling to establish a democratic government after Mubarak was ousted in February last year following an 18-day uprising.

dfm/bk (AFP, AP)