CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni MubarakÂ’s party won 419 of 508 seats in parliamentary polls, the electoral commission said Monday after the opposition cried foul and monitors charged the vote was marred by fraud.| Hmmmph. Da Mayor would have done better ... |
Monitors had previously charged that the polling, which ended with a second round on Sunday, was marked by widespread fraud, while the European Union voiced concern on Monday about reports of irregularities and violence.
EgyptÂ’s main opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and liberal Wafd party, had refused to take part in SundayÂ’s runoff after the NDP swept 209 out of 211 seats in the first round of voting on November 28.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif insisted on Monday that there had been “no interference” by the police or authorities in the polling. His government has dismissed the fraud charges, acknowledging only minor irregularities without any impact on the results, and the NDP accuses the opposition of engineering its own ouster through its decision to boycott.
But the Independent Coalition for ElectionsÂ’ Observation said widespread violations, including violence and fraud, had marred both rounds, raising serious questions over the legitimacy of the new parliament.
“Both rounds of elections witnessed violence in the presence of security which directly resulted in the death of a number of citizens, the exclusion of candidates and their representatives, and attacks” on independent monitors.
“Polling stations and ballot counting premises have become breeding grounds for forging ballot cards and manipulation of the will of voters... This was especially apparent during the second round,” the Egyptian group added.