Controversial TV host Tawfiq Okasha is eyeing the role of speaker of parliament as signs of his victory in the Talkha and Nabarouh constituency (Daqahlia) emerged following the end of runoffs in the final stage of elections on Wednesday.
“I won and came first in Talkha and Nabarouh, but of course the final results have not yet been declared by the High Elections Commission,” Okasha, the owner of al-Faraeen channel and an ardent critic of the 2011 uprising, said on Thursday.
“The vote gap encourages me to say I will compete in elections for the speaker of parliament,” he said during a victory march by his supporters.
Initial counts show Okasha winning 94,354 votes, heading off his nearest competitor by more than 20,000 votes.
Okasha, a popular subject of sarcasm by supporters of the 2011 uprising, triggered a fresh wave of ridicule on Twitter, with his critics launching a popular hashtag in resposne to his parliament speaker bid.
Twitter use Khaled Alseoufy wrote: "This parliament is farcical…events involved are not connected to reality."
"Parliament sessions should be aired on Moga Comedy,” Hamada Ebeed wrote, referring to an Egyptian comedy channel.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
