Egypt’s worst violence in months has escalated clashes between political forces and the ruling military ahead of a landmark presidential election.
Some see Egypt’s newly elected Parliament as the triumphant fruit of upheaval but others see it as a weapon designed to subdue ongoing revolution.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s party is poised to take 45% of Egypt’s seats amid soaring public expectations but with few concrete powers to deliver reform.
Egypt’s two main Islamist parties claim to have together taken 62% of the vote in the general election’s final stage, maintaining their overall lead.
Egypt’s leading Islamist parties won about two-thirds of votes in the second round of polling for a Parliament that will draft a new Constitution.
Egypt’s parliamentary elections have become hotly contested by rival Islamic groups all seeking to extend their early gains in the run-off vote.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s party is hoping it has extended its lead over hardline Islamists in Monday’s run-off contest for Egypt’s parliamentary seats.
Islamist parties captured more than 60% of the vote in the first round of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, according to the latest partial results.
Tarek Mustafa was shot dead on January 28, a police bullet flying through the 24-year-old’s neck as he stood in Cairo’s Sayeda Zeinab Square.
In a victory for political Islamists, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party are ahead in Egypt’s first elections since Mubarak’s ouster.
The Muslim Brotherhood says it is leading Egypt’s election, which would give the nation’s oldest Islamist group a powerful parliamentary platform.
