Early returns in Egyptian polls show victory for Islamist parties

December 1, 2011

Early returns in the elections in Egypt suggest the, strongly linked to Islamist organization the , is likely to win 40 percent of the seats in the first elections following the fall of Hosni Mubarak, according to analysts.

, a conservative, Islamist party, may come second. Al Nour is considered more hard-line than the Muslim Brotherhood, and a party spokesman stated they wanted the country to realize that "sovereignty comes from God". He claimed they would not harm the Coptic minority: "Touching one hair on a Copt's head violates our program."

The liberal alliance claims to have 20 to 30 percent of the vote in Cairo.

Following delays to the counting process, the results of the first stage in the Egyptian election are expected to be announced tomorrow. After this, the election process is to continue with further rounds of voting until a final decision on forming the government on January 13 for seats in the lower house, and March 14 for seats in the upper house.