Islamists in Egypt look to boost lead in elections

Associated Press

CAIRO

Egyptians turned out in large numbers Wednesday for a second round of parliamentary elections, with Islamists looking to boost their already overwhelming lead and liberal voters concerned the outcome will push the country in a more- religious direction.

Two Islamist blocs won close to 70 percent of seats in the first round Nov. 28-29, according to an AP tally compiled from official results. The secular and liberal forces that largely drove Egypt’s uprising were trounced, failing to turn their achievement into a victory at the polls.

The final two rounds of voting are not expected to dramatically alter the result and could strengthen the Islamists’ hand.

“We have to try Islamic rule to be able to decide if it’s good for us,” said 60-year-old voter Hussein Khattab, an accountant, waiting to vote at a polling station near the famous pyramids in Giza province on the western outskirts of Cairo. “If not, we can go back to Tahrir,” he said, referring to the Cairo square that was the focus of the uprising in January and February that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

He said he planned to vote for the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most- organized and well-known party. Its Freedom and Justice party took 47 percent of contested seats, while the even more conservative Al-Nour bloc won 21 percent.

The election is the first since Mubarak’s Feb. 11 ouster and is the freest in Egypt’s modern history. The parliament will be tasked, in theory, with forming a 100-member assembly to draft a new constitution.