CAIRO: Egypt's newly-elected parliament held its first session on Monday, despite reports of election fraud by opposition groups. Fathi Sorour was re-elected as Speaker of the Parliament for the 21st time in a row, receiving 505 out of 506 votes. Mohammed Abdel el-Al, head of el-Adala (Social Justice) Party, nominated himself and received just one vote. A high administrative court ruled that the elections were void after officials ignored orders to halt voting in certain districts, where opposition candidates were told they could not run. Human rights groups and observers said the election was marred by fraud and vote rigging in favor of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). The NDP won over 80 percent of the seats, while opposition candidates barely won a handful. President Hosni Mubarak said on Sunday that the recent parliamentary election was ‘consistent with the law,' acknowledging only minor problems in some districts, including violence and vote-buying, during the two rounds of elections on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5. Mubarak said the results were lawful and told Egyptians to expect the new Parliament to advance democracy. Mubarak said in his speech that the opposition “wasted their time and energy by boycotting the elections after initially participating”. He attributed his party's success to good organization and preparations and urged the opposition to study the lessons learned. “With its negative and positive (aspects) the election was a milestone,” he said. This came as hundreds of Egyptian opposition activists protested Sunday over what they called an illegitimate parliament. The protest took place outside the Supreme Court in downtown Cairo shortly after President Hosni Mubarak congratulated the ruling party for its sweeping victory. The activists, a number of opposition candidates, and former independent MPs who lost in the elections shouted: “Mubarak's parliament is void,” announcing they will form a parallel parliament. Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the country's oldest political party, the Wafd, pulled out before the second round of voting, citing widespread irregularities. The elections this year were seen as crucial and an indicator of next year's presidential poll. The 82-year-old Mubarak, who has ruled for nearly 30 years, is expected to run again for a sixth presidential term. BM
