Egyptians voted in an election to the Shura Council's (the Upper House of Egypt's Parliament) mid-term election on Tuesday, one of three ballots being held in swift succession this year and next in the Arab world's most populous country. The outcomes of each vote are in little doubt, with candidates of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) expected to sweep most seats amid complaints lodged by rights groups about abuses. Officials say that voting is fair. But the process will be closely watched at each stage to see how much space the government of President Hosni Mubarak, 82, gives the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups, and whether the president seeks a sixth six-year term of office. UPPER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT ELECION The upper house of parliament, (the Shura Council), consists of 264 seats, one third of the seats are appointed by the president and the other two thirds are elected in two separate blocs of 88 each. An election for 88 seats took place on Tuesday. The Shura Council reviews laws before handing them to the lower house, or People's Assembly, for final approval. Turnout is typically very low, partly because constituencies are larger than those for the lower house and few Egyptians pay much attention to who their representative is. Currently, the overwhelming majority of seats are held by members affiliated to the NDP. The leftist Tagammu party is the only opposition group with an elected seat in the Shura Council but opposition parties hold a handful of appointed seats. The Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest opposition bloc in the lower house, has no seats in the upper house but it fielded 13 candidates in Tuesday's vote. The Brotherhood is officially banned but skirts the ban by running candidates as independents. The election result is due out on Thursday. LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT ELECTION As in the upper house, the majority of lower house seats are held by members from Mubarak's party. In 2005, the Brotherhood secured an unprecedented 88 of the 454 seats up for grabs. Since 2005, the authorities have increasingly squeezed the Brotherhood out of mainstream politics, frequently detaining senior leaders and other members. As a result, the Brotherhood has said it does not expect to repeat its 2005 performance. In this year's vote, towards the end of 2010, 518 seats will be contested because 64 seats have been added specifically for women candidates. Some seats are already held by women. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Egypt held its first multi-candidate election in 2005, ending a practice of single-candidate referendums. The next vote is due in 2011. Mubarak, in power since 1981 and whose health has been in question since undergoing surgery in Germany in March, won the 2005 race easily. He has not said if he will seek another term. Mubarak has no vice president, the post he held before he became president, and has no clearly designated successor. Most Egyptians believe that if he does not run his son, Gamal, 46, a senior official in the NDP, is likely to run. Other possible successors often cited include Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman or another military candidate. Every president since the king was toppled in 1952 has been a senior military officer, including Mubarak. Former nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei has said he is considering running for the presidency but he has set conditions like guarantees of a fair vote and constitutional changes that are unlikely to to be met. Based on the constitution, an independent candidate needs the backing of 250 elected representatives spread across both houses of parliament and local councils - all of which are dominated by the ruling party. Senior members of opposition parties, if they have held their position for a year, can also run but ElBaradei has said he will not join an existing party, which means he is unlikely to get on the ballot. This also rules out the banned Brotherhood, which has said it does not intend to run.
