US respects the Egyptian people's choices: American Ambassador

American ambassador to Cairo says Egypt's elections have been 'highly successful' and the US will deal with the people's elected representatives

Anne Patterson, the United States ambassador to Egypt, lauded on Wednesday the country's ongoing parliamentary election, branding it “highly successful.”
The second phase of the People Assembly's complicated election process began on Wednesday in several governorates, including Giza, Beni Suef, Sohag and Aswan.
“I want to congratulate the Egyptian people for the highly successful parliamentary elections,” Patterson told reporters after visiting one of the polling stations in the Dokki district of Giza.
“Although there were minor violations in the first round, the process was smooth and transparent.
“There are many American observers who are following the elections; they said it went very well. Two stages are remaining, we will see what happens.”
“The US will deal with any party chosen by the Egyptian people. Democracy is all about the will of people,” she said in response to questions about how her country plans to deal with Islamist early victories in Egypt's polls.
The Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), has swept the first stage of the elections securing 37 per cent of the vote. It is the firm favourite to clinch the majority of the lower house seats come the end of the elections next month.
The Salafist Nour Party, which espouses an ultra-conservative brand of Islam, came second in the voting with 21 per cent, raising worries among liberals and secularists that they might try to impose a strict Muslim morale code.
Echoing the sentiment of several American political figures, including Senate John Kerry who visited Egypt and met with Brotherhood leaders earlier this week, Patterson affirmed that the United States would “respect the choices of Egyptian people”.