Egypt: NDP secures more that 80 per cent of the seats in second round

President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has won 83 per cent of the seats in the second round of parliamentary elections. The two biggest opposition groups – the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and the liberal Wafd party – withdrew from the second round, alleging fraud and rigging in the first ballot.

International monitors and Egyptian human rights groups have called for the results to be annulled. The US and the EU have voiced criticism over the poll due to widespread violence and allegations of rigging, but Egyptian officials insist the poll was fair and free of government interference.

Figures released by the election commission show that NDP secure 420 of parliament's 508 seats, more than 80 per cent compared with 70 per cent in the last parliament. MB and the Wafd party boycotted Sunday's election following NDP's win of 209 out of 211 seats in the first round of voting. The results saw MB, the leading opposition group in Egypt, with 20 per cent of the seats, without any MPs in the new assembly.

The group has called on President Mubarak to void the new parliament and run a re-election, overseen by an independent adjudicator. The call was seconded by an Egyptian rights group, Independent Coalition for Elections' Observation.

Both rounds of the parliamentary elections took place amid clashes between voters and security forces, as well as reports of rigging and fraud. Hundreds of MB members were rounded up prior to the first round as part of a clampdown on the group by the government.

Amnesty International estimates that as many as eight people had died in election related clashes, with at least 17 arrested in the city of Mersa Matruh for protesting against the results in their governance.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt votes in second round of election amid allegations of fraud

Egypt has voted in a second round of parliamentary elections, a week after the first round was marred by violence and allegations of fraud. President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) won almost all the seats in the first round, following withdrawal from the poll by the two main opposition groups.

The NDP has been accused of fixing the vote, but the party insists that the ballot was fair. The top two candidates in seats where no-one polled more than 50 per cent of the vote are supposed to contest the run-off.

But the NDP, which won 209 of the 222 seats decided in the first round, is expected to win all but a handful of the 287 seats that were up for grabs on Sunday.

The first round of voting attracted criticism from rights groups and the US, after videos of confrontations between the government and the opposition and pictures of ballot boxes being stuffed and destroyed began to circulate on the internet.

Experts wonder whether the result has any credibility as it looks like the outcome might leave Egypt a one-party state. The main opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), pulled out of the second round as it failed to secure a single seat in the first round. The other opposition group, the liberal Wafd party, followed in MB's footsteps after winning just two seats.

The result of the parliamentary elections will no doubt have an affect on the presidential poll next year, but it is yet unclear whether President Mubarak will stand for re-election or look for a successor.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.