Early indications point to a landslide victory for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) in elections for the Shura Council (the upper house of parliament), in which it is expected to win 52 contested seats and another 14 uncontested seats. Opposition parties–including the Nasserist, Tagammu, Ghad and Geel parties–are all expected to win one seat each.
Ten candidates from the Wafd Party and 14 from the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement all appear to have lost, while run-off elections are expected to be held in five different governorates.
NDP candidate and Religious Endowments (Awqaf) Minister Mahmoud Zaqzouq received the highest number of votes in Daqahliya, while two Coptic NDP candidates won seats for Assiut and Minya.
Civil society organizations, meanwhile, have reported a number of voting irregularities, including the closure of certain polling stations before the official deadline and the barring of supervisors from entry. They estimated voter turnout to be as low as between 2 and 7 percent.
But according to Entissar Nessim, head of the Supreme Electoral Commission, the voting process was “normal.” Nessim declined to answer questions about reported acts of elections-related violence in certain constituencies.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
