The Muslim Brotherhood may yet fall short of a majority in the upcoming parliament, reports Gamal Essam El-Din The third -- and final -- stage of parliamentary elections ended yesterday, with Islamists expected to gain a majority of seats in the newly-elected People's Assembly. The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, says it has secured 207 seats, or 41 per cent of the 498 seat total, in the first two stages and the first round of the third stage. Of the 52 FJP candidates who qualified for this week's run-off elections, party officials expect 14 to win easily. The remaining 38, however, face strong competition, more often than not from rival Salafi candidates, making it uncertain whether or not the party will clinch the 250 seats necessary to secure a majority in the assembly. The Salafist Nour Party claims to have won 111 seats till now, with 25 of its candidates qualifying for third stage run-offs. Two other Islamist parties, the moderate Wasat and the Reconstruction and Development Party, the political wing of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, have gained 11 and 15 seats respectively. The two major liberal forces -- the Wafd and Egyptian Bloc -- have won 45 seats each, while between 30 and 35 seats are shared by the remaining parties. Final results for the two thirds of seats to be decided by proportional representation will not be available, according to Abdel-Moez Ibrahim, chairman of the Supreme Elections Committee (SEC), until after 11 January. He warned that the figures currently being bandied about in the media are no more than guesswork. Declared returns, however, suggest that the Egyptian Bloc and the Wafd Party have so far won nine per cent of the vote each, former Mubarak loyalists four per cent, the Revolution Continues coalition two per cent, and the moderate Islamist Wasat Party two per cent. The FJP's daily newspaper has already begun to trail possible scenarios should it not win a majority: "The party's lack of a majority will force it to choose from among five alliances. The FJP could enter into an alliance with the Salafist Nour Party, in which case it would command 70 per cent of the assembly. It could also ally with the Wafd or with other non-Islamist forces, with independents or a mix of smaller parties." Saad El-Katatni, FJP secretary-general, and Hussein Ibrahim, chairman of the FJP's Alexandria office, told parliamentary reporters on 9 January that it was too early to speak of an alliance with the Wafd. They said that the FJP had already been approached by a number of political parties seeking to forge an alliance in the next parliament. El-Katatni denied that any agreement had been reached with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) granting concessions to the military in return for SCAF granting the Brotherhood-dominated legislature a clear mandate to appoint the 100-member panel that will draft a new constitution. "It is a shame to speak about such an agreement and we fully respect the Egyptian military elite and their support for the 25 January Revolution and we believe that speaking of securing them a safe exit is unnecessary," he said. The FJP and Muslim Brotherhood, said El-Katatni, will go to Tahrir Square on 25 January to mark the first anniversary of the revolution, but will be present only to celebrate the revolution and not to oppose the army. This week's run-off battles saw 86 candidates fighting for the 43 seats reserved for independents. A further 26 seats -- 12 in North Cairo's Al-Sahel district, four in Assiut governorate's two districts of Al-Fatah and Dairut, two in Alexandria's Moharrem Bey district; two seats in Sharqiya governorate's fifth district and four in Aswan -- in which the polls were delayed because of infringements of regulations, were also up for grabs. In run off elections in the Gharbiya district of Bassioun FJP candidate and former MP Alameddin El-Sakhawi faced off against Salafist Nour candidate Ali Negm. In Kafr El-Zayat supporters of Mahmoud Mahdia, the FJP's candidate, and of Salah El-Hassawi, a former NDP member standing as an independent, were involved in bloody clashes. In the industrial community of Mahalla Al-Kobra, FJP's candidate Abdel-Halim Hilal was involved in a hard fought battle against Hamdi El-Fakharani, the contractor best known for filing an appeal against the Madinaty land contract. In Daqahliya governorate the FJP's candidate Khaled El-Deeb was opposed by former chairman of the Zamalek sporting club Mortada Mansour. Elsewhere in Daqahliya five FJP and Nour candidates were competing against each other, while in Qalioubiya seven FJP and Salafist Nour candidates were facing off. In Qena, where one-time NDP heavyweight Abdel-Rehim El-Ghoul, a former chairman of the parliamentary Agriculture Committee, faced FJP candidate Ali Ibrahim El-Shishini, El-Ghoul's supporters blocked trains on the Cairo-Aswan line.
