Egypt's Parliamentary Elections End, Muslim Brotherhood Wins Majority (VIDEO)
Islamists now dominate Egypt’s parliament after the leading political party, The Muslim Brotherhood, has won the majority. The religious-centered political party gained one third of the votes in the third round of lower house elections Friday.
Despite an end to the third round of parliamentary elections, run-off elections are set to follow. Partial results announced that the Brotherhood walked away with 37.5 percent of the votes, while the ultra-conservative Salafi Al-Nour party came in at a close second.
The election results have indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood will have the most sway in parliamentary decisions, and that its ideals will play a significant role in forming Egypt’s new constitution.
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The Muslim Brotherhood has previously promised to “include all the colors of the rainbow” when ruling parliament, saying that they will not enforce strict Shariah law when dealing with political matters. This is in comparison to the Salafi Al-Nour party, whose fundamentalist, outspoken Islamic values were predicted to play a large part in government affairs.
According to prominent human rights lawyer and activist Negad Borai, the change of governmental power will surely be a rocky road.
“The military wants a safe return to its past life away from the limelight and with its privileges and prestige, and the Islamists want power. The two have a deal that's at everyone else's expense,” Borai told USA Today.
Muslim Brotherhood Majority in Egypt’s Lower HouseParliament’s lower house election is just the beginning of Egypt’s work, USA Today reports. The powers allowed to parliament, the drafting of the constitution, and the smooth transition of power are all decisions, which now must be made.
There is also more voting in parliament to come. One-third of parliament is reserved for individual seats, in which both the Salafi and the Muslim Brotherhood have placed candidates.
Voting for parliament’s upper house, named the Shura Council, is scheduled to commence later in January and end in February.
