AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Reuters
Tuesday

13 December 2011

8:30:00 PM
283964

Egyptians start second round of vote

Egyptians have begun voting in the second round of parliamentary elections after Islamic parties won a majority of the ballots in the first stage.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) Wednesday, with voting taking place over two days and a run-off being held a week later.

The polls are the country's first legislative vote since the ouster of dictator Hosni Mubarak in February.

Egypt's leading Islamic party, the Muslim Brotherhood, has already won an overwhelming majority of votes in the first round. The party was banned during 30-year rule of Mubarak.

The second round of voting will cover nine of Egypt's 27 governorates including Giza, Ismailia and Suez.

Nearly 19 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in this round and 180 parliamentary seats are up for grabs.

The Muslim Brotherhood (47 percent) and Al-Nour, another Islamic party (21 percent) secured about 68 percent of the seats in the first round of the parliamentary elections, which were held on November 28.

The country holds elections as Egyptians have staged mass demonstrations against the continued rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) in recent weeks.

Protesters have been calling for the downfall of SCAF, accusing it of moving against the country's popular revolution by using violence against civilians.

The ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces took over after the ouster of the former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in a popular revolution in February.

The junta has been the target of mass protests in the country for its refusal to live up to its promise of handing the power over to a civilian government.

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