Egpytian ruling party, allies win landslide in election
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-08 16:47

Preliminary results in Egypt's elections Thursday gave the leading opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, a record 19 percent of parliament, with the ruling party and its allies holding an overwhelming majority after a four-week election with unprecedented political violence.

The results leaked by an official in the Interior Ministry, which oversaw the election, came a day after no fewer than eight people were killed as police battled to stop voters reaching polling stations in Muslim Brotherhood strongholds.

In Wednesday's polling, the Brotherhood won 12 seats, the National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak and its allies took 111 seats, and the opposition front two seats, said the ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. Two more seats remain undecided.

If confirmed, the tolls from Wednesday's runoffs would give the ruling NDP and its allies 333 seats in the parliament and the Brotherhood 88 seats. Other opposition parties and independents would have 21 seats. A total of 12 seats are undecided and reruns are expected to be held.

The parliament holds 454 seats of which 10 are appointed by the president _ a privilege that tends to be used to increase the representation of women and the Coptic Christian minority.

The results mean the Brotherhood _ a group that is banned but tolerated with restriction _ has won almost six times the 15 seats it held in the outgoing assembly.

Under U.S. pressure to bring about democratic reform, President Mubarak gave the Brotherhood unusual leeway in the campaign, but his security forces cracked down after the first round of polling on November 9 when it became evident that the Islamic group had far more popular support than expected.

In Wednesday's polling, as in the second and third rounds, lines of police officers in riot gear blockaded numerous polling stations in opposition strongholds.