Islamist parties consolidate their success in earlier round as all but one individual seat to be decided by run-offs on Wednesday and Thursday.
Head of the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC), Abdel Moez Ibrahim, announced Sunday the results of the second round of Egypt`s parliamentary elections.
The voting on 14 and 15 December took place in nine governorates: Giza, Sharqia, Suez, Ismailiya, Beheira, Beni Suef, Sohag, Menoufiya and Aswan.
Over those two days, 3,387 candidates contested 180 seats, 120 of which are designated for electoral lists while the rest for individuals. As of now, however, only one individual seat has been won with the rest going to run-offs later this week as no one candidate secured more than fifty percent of the vote.
Candidates of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, and the Salafist Nour Party will vie with each other for most of the individual seats, following on from their successes in the first round.
In a heated race in Giza, independent candidate Amr El-Shobki will compete with Amr Darag, a prominent FJP candidate in the third constituency.
The FJP candidate Ayman Sadek and independent Essam Bahi El-Din will compete for the workers’ seat.
Independent Mohamed El-Omada and Abdel Razek Hassan Abdel Sayed of the FJP go into the run-off for the professional seat in Aswan.
For the workers’ seat in the Upper Egyptian governorate, Mohamed Aboul Ela of the FJP will lock horns with Farag Allah Gad Allah of the Nour Party.
The list of the FJP came first, ahead of the second-placed Nour Party whose list includes Al-Jamaa Al-Islamyia’s Building and Development Party and Al-Asala Party.
In Sharqia, Ibrahim confirmed there will be run-offs in all the five constituencies.
Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, head of El-Eslah we El-Tanmia Party, won in Menoufiya’s second constituency. For the Workers’ seat Saied El-Azab of the FJP and Nour Party’s Mahmoud Kabil will compete.
Candidates of the FJP and Nour Party will face off in five constituencies in Beni Suef.
The run-offs of the second round will get underway on Wednesday and Thursday, amid the ongoing clashes in downtown Cairo after the military attacked protesters Friday to forcibly clear a three-week long sit-in outside the Cabinet offices.
[Developed in partnership with Ahram Online.]