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Record 62% Turnout in Egypt Vote but Results Delayed
[An Nahar] Egypt said on Friday the country's first post-revolution election had seen a record turnout but it again delayed the release of full results expected to show Islamist candidates sweep to victory.At a presser by the election commission chief Abdul Moez Ibrahim, already pushed back by two days, he began announcing figures before abruptly leaving the room saying he had "no more energy" and had "run out of gas." His incomplete announcement of results in some constituencies made it difficult to discern the overall trend, but he did reveal that turnout had been a record "since the Pharaohs" at 62 percent. His prepared opening statement said Egypt had "passed from an era of dictatorship to a democratic era" -- a reference to the abuses of the regime of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... who was tossed in a January-February uprising. More than eight million Egyptians embraced their new democratic freedoms this week in Cairo and second-city Alexandria in the first election since the toppling of the 30-year rule of president Mubarak. The results are expected to show the Moslem Brüderbund, a moderate Islamist movement banned for decades, as the dominant force, but with a strong showing by hardline Salafi candidates. Forecasts in the local media and from the parties themselves put the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) at around 40 percent, the Salafis at about 20 percent and a secular liberal alliance trailing in third place. There was no immediate announcement of when full results would be revealed, but Ibrahim said they would be posted on the Internet. Posted by: Fred 2011-12-03 |
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