Mubarak wins 85% of parliament
2000-11-15 21:59
Cairo - President Hosni Mubarak's party emerged on Wednesday from a month of Egyptian elections with more than 85 percent of parliament's seats despite losing ground to Islamist and other opposition candidates.
The four-week-long elections were marred by clashes which left 14 people dead, including four in the last round of polling on Tuesday, but voting was considered more transparent than five years ago.
Interior Minister Habib al-Adli who announced final results on state television, said Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) won 388 of parliament's 454 seats, or 85.46 percent of the total.
More Opposition
Adli said four legal opposition parties had won a combined 17 seats: seven for the liberal Wafd Party, six for the Marxist Tagammu party, three for the Arab-Socialist Nasserite party and one for the Al-Ahrar party.
He said 37 independent candidates had also won, but did not give a figure for the number of successful Islamist candidates.
Seventeen of the 37 were Muslim Brotherhood members running as independent candidates to get round a ban on their movement, according to the Brotherhood. Two other Islamists were reported to be among the independents.
The Brotherhood, which has been absent from parliament for the past 10 years, now represents the largest opposition force in the chamber.
Voting Cancelled in One Constituency
Two of the 444 seats contested in elections remain to be decided in a re-vote after voting was cancelled in one constituency. Mubarak appoints the remaining 10 members of parliament, who have no party affiliation.
In contrast, the departing parliament, elected in 1995, had only 13 opposition members. The NDP had 417 seats, or around 92 percent of the total.
But analysts said the ruling party would not have such a strong hold on the numerous NDP members of parliament who were elected as independents and then joined the party, as they may not always toe the party line.
Unofficial figures showed that well over 100 candidates rallied to the ruling party after they were elected in the various rounds.
Democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who was arrested earlier this year and now faces trial in a case he links to the elections, has predicted that the parliament would be the most robust since the late 1980s.
"The leadership will not be as strongly intimidating as it used to be, and there are enough of the Muslim Brotherhood and the opposition to give the new parliament a higher quality of performance," Ibrahim said.
Less Irregularities
The elections took place after an unprecedented court ruling this year calling for judges to be present at every polling station in the country, which analysts said reduced voting irregularities and encouraged turnout.
However, the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition candidates charge that the police and hired "thugs" harassed them and prevented their supporters from reaching many of the polling stations throughout the month of voting.
More Police Violence
The strong-arm tactics sparked a number of clashes with supporters of Brotherhood and other candidates, prompting police to retaliate with tear gas, clubs and even pump-action shotguns.
A total of eight people were killed by police gunfire, including four on Tuesday in the village of Amar, just north of Cairo, according to a toll compiled from hospital sources.
Another six people died in other election-related violence, while hundreds were reported injured, including dozens who had to be hospitalised.
Although the toll was far lower than the 60 people killed in the 1995 election, the violence committed by the police was greater than five years ago, Ibrahim told AFP.
The new parliament is set to hold its first session on 13 December. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA