EGYPTIANS voted in an election to the Upper House of Parliament 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 gives the banned Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups, and whether the President seeks a sixth six-year term of office. The Upper House of parliament, or 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 the 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, according to Reuters. 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 today. As in the Upper House, the majority of lower house seats are held by members from the NDP. 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. Egypt held its first multi-candidate election in 2005, ending a practice of single candidate referendums. The next vote is next year. President Hosni Mubarak, in power since 1981, won the 2005 race easily. He has not said if he will seek another term. Several Egyptian human rights groups have criticised the government's refusal to allow them to monitor the Tuesday elections, saying restrictions could lead to election abuses. “The refusal of the High Committee for Elections to allow human rights groups to monitor the Shura Council elections indicates the committee is not independent and is subject to the state security apparatus that intervenes to ensure the election outcome is in favour of the ruling party,” a statement by a coalition of rights groups said. A member of the High Committee for Elections rejected the groups' accusations and said sufficient time was given to all rights groups to receive permits to monitor the vote. “The High Committee for Elections has given permits to 52 rights groups to monitor the polls on June 1. Those who have not received permits did not apply in time from May 3 to 25,” Ahmed Shawki, a member of the Committee said.
