The Muslim Brotherhood (MB), Egypt's biggest opposition party, has failed to win any seats outright in the first round of the parliamentary election. The group has accused the Egyptian government of rigging votes and said that a few of its candidates will stand in a run-off vote on 5th December.
"Only a few will stand in a run-off, but not a single Brotherhood candidate won in the first round," said, the head of the MB's bloc of 88 seats in the outgoing parliament, Saad al-Katatni.
Results of the poll are yet to be officially confirmed, but it appears that the losers include MB's leader in parliament. There were reports of protests and violence during Election Day, with many of the MB supporters prevented from casting their vote.
MB supporters and have spoken out against the Egyptian government, saying it has annihilated the multi-party system, compromised freedom of speech and the integrity of the elections. A spokesman for the party has warned that infringement of these rights will lead to more violence as achieving change by peaceful means becomes increasingly impossible.
The MB is officially prohibited from taking part in the elections; therefore its candidates stand as independents. The liberal New Wafd party also had no winners, with a handful of candidates going into run-offs. President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) is expected to win the majority of the votes. The new parliament will have 518 members, 508 of whom will be elected and 10 will be appointed by presidential decree.
Source: BBC News
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