ALEXANDRIA, Egypt: Head of al-Shehab Center for Human Rights Khalaf Bayoumy said the first phase of parliamentary elections was held in a calm atmosphere despite the recent serious demands and situation. This is the first in 50 years. The great number of voters indicated Egypt is going through a new phase of democracy. The center held a press conference yesterday November 30, in which Bayoumy said the first indicators of the parliamentary elections refers the lists of the Freedom and Justice, al-Nour, Revolution parties is continuing and the Egyptian Bloc parties have the most votes. He added Alexandria did not witness any violence or clashes in all the electoral districts. Bayoumy pointed out the armed forces' role in reserving the calm and discipline during the voting process. This can return confidence between people and military authority again. Bayoumy also said habitual violation was non-existent during the first phase. “The 2011 elections represent establishing legitimate authority in Egypt after the Egyptian January 25 Revolution,” Bayoumy said. He added most violations, which appeared during the first day, were addressed on the second day of voting. Regarding the violations in Alexandria, Bayoumy said it included using electoral campaigns in front of polling stations. “The Supreme Electoral Committee did not take any decisions against parties and candidates who held electoral campaigns,” Bayoumy said. Bayoumy said al-Shehab Center sent 240 monitors during the parliamentary elections. They had four phases for monitoring included running for elections, electoral campaigns, voting and sorting the results of votes. Arabic here
