CAIRO: The polling stations were ready on Tuesday morning for Egypt to begin the final round of parliamentary elections. When the doors opened, however, only a small and sporadic trickle of voters were present, highlighting the fatigue of an election that began in late November. Already there are worries that the country's conservative Islamic groups will secure a lion's share of third round voting to add to their successes in the first two rounds of what has been a largely free and fair election, despite massively low voter turnout. It is also the first election in the post-Hosni Mubarak era after the 83-year-old dictator was ousted from power last February by a popular uprising. About 14 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in nine of the 27 provinces, where 2,666 candidates are contesting 150 seats, according to government figures. Two-thirds of parliament's 498 seats have been allocated to party lists, with the remainder earmarked for individuals. Voting is to take place over two days, with polling stations scheduled to close at 7 PM local time. Activists claim that the elections are not representative of the overall make-up of the country, claiming that military violence and clashes in the country have limited the liberal, more activist-prone candidates and voters, to take part in the election. The second round of voting took place as the military attacked protesters in downtown Cairo in mid-December, forcing many liberal voters away from the polls to concentrate on their family and friends in harm's way. The first round of voting also took place only days after 6 days of clashes near Tahrir Square left scores dead and thousands wounded, also leading to election boycotts. “Anyone who says these elections are fair is quite mistaken, because when you have those in power killing citizens and attacking protesters and telling the country lies, how can it be fair,” Ahmed Mansour, a 26-year-old pharmacist and activist on the frontlines of all demonstrations in the country, told Bikyamasr.com. The political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), and the ultra-conservative Salafist al-Nour Party have won 48 percent and 24 percent of seats thus far, respectively, increasing local and international worries that Egypt could turn toward the conservative. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/8jepu Tags: Elections, featured, Islamists, Parliament, Voting Section: Egypt, Latest News
