CAIRO: Early indications, as the counting continues in Egypt's first elections after the revolution, are for a strong showing by the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party. Also doing well are the Salafi (conservative Islamic) Nur party, especially outside Cairo, and the liberal and centre-left parties in the Egyptian Bloc. Here's an explanation of the process and a round-up of the latest news from Egypt's Arabic-language media as of 3:00PM. Who's being elected and when? The first round of the election, which took place on Monday and Tuesday in nine of the country's 27 governorates, will decide one third of the seats in the People's Assembly, the lower house of the Egyptian Parliament. Of the seats being contested in this round, one third will go to individual candidates running in two-member constituencies and two-thirds will go to party lists in larger constituencies. Voters choose two candidates running on the individual system and one list. Half of all seats are reserved for workers and peasants, and half for members of all other professional groups. This means that in the two-member constituencies, one worker or peasant will be elected and one ‘other'. The official results of the individual elections will be announced on Thursday. The results of the list system will only be announced after the completion of voting in all governorates, in January. However, observers at the count centres are already estimating results in the list system as the ballots are counted. As votes are still being counted, these predictions are likely to change throughout the day. The Freedom and Justice Party has claimed to be in the lead in the lists in Fayyoum, Cairo, the Red Sea and the Upper Egypt governorate of Assiut. It says it is competing with Nur for the first place in Kafr al-Sheikh governorate in the Nile Delta and in Alexandria, Egypt's second city. The Egyptian Bloc has also performed strongly in Cairo and the Red Sea. CBC television reports that a spokesman for the moderate Islamist Wasat party claims the party will get from 10 to 12 percent of the total vote. Cairo Cairo governorate is voting in the first round but about half of Cairo's urban population lives in Giza and part of Qalyubia governorates, which will vote in later rounds. Egypt's Shorouk newspaper has tweeted that in Cairo's third district, centred around middle-class Madinat Nasr, the Egyptian Bloc list is ahead of the FJP. Mustafa Najjar, a Baradei supporter and member of the pro-revolution and liberal-leaning Adl party, is reportedly performing strongly in the ‘others' individual contest in Madinat Nasr. In Cairo's largely middle-class north-eastern Heliopolis district, Shorouk reports that Amr Hamzawy of the liberal Egypt Freedom Party is expected to take the ‘others' individual seat, while the workers seat is being contested between the Egyptian Bloc and FJP candidates. The Egyptian Bloc is leading in the list system for the fourth district centred around Heliopolis. In Hadayek al-Kobba in north Cairo, Amr Zaki of the FJP is reported to be leading for the workers seat. In Qasr al-Nil district in central Cairo, Shorouk reports a close contest between Gameela Ismail, formerly of the Ghad party but now running with the Revolution Continues bloc, and the Egyptian Bloc and FJP candidates. In Cairo's fifth district, Shorouk reports that the FJP list is in the lead followed by Nour, the Egyptian Bloc, and the moderate Islamist Wasat party. Alexandria Early reports indicate a strong showing for the FJP and the Salafi Nour party in Egypt's second city. Al-Masry Al-Youm reports, based on a 30 percent count earlier this morning, that the FJP list is leading followed by Nour, the Egyptian Bloc, and the Revolution Continues. For the city's eight individual seats, FJP-backed candidates were leading in four, Nour in one, and three were being contested between FJP, Nour and independent candidates. Kafr al-Sheikh The Salafi Nur party is performing strongly in this Delta governorate. Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that with 50 percent of votes counted, Nour's list was coming first in the city's first district followed by the FJP. In the second district the FJP was leading over Nour. The Wafd party was in third place in both districts. For the governorate's six individual seats, one was being fought over by Nour, the Freedom Party and the FJP, two by Nur and the FJP, one by Nur and independent candidates, one by the FJP and the Wafd, and one by the FJP and an independent. Fayoum The conservative Fayoum governorate, south of Cairo near the dividing line between Upper and Lower Egypt, has shown a good result for the FJP, while Shorouk reports that the contests in all the individual seats are between FJP and Nour candidates. Assiut Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that of the governorate's two list constituencies, the FJP is leading in one followed by Nur and the Egyptian Bloc, while in the other the FJP is leading followed by the Conservative Party, a right-wing party which includes many ex-NDP members. FJP candidates are performing strongly in the governorate's individual seats, as are those of the Gamaa Islamiyya's Construction and Development Party. Luxor Shorouk reports that in Luxor, the FJP is leading in the list system with Nur and the Egyptian Bloc competing for second place. Al-Masry Al-Youm reports, based on an 80% count earlier this morning, that the FJP is leading with Nur in second place and the Freedom Party in third place, and that the Egyptian Bloc and Wasat lists are performing poorly. Port Said Shorouk reports that the FJP list is in first position followed by the Wafd, Nour, Wasat, and the Egyptian Bloc. Red Sea Shorouk reports that the Freedom and Justice Party and Egyptian Bloc lists are in close competition in the Red Sea governorate. BM
