Egypt Islamist Blocs Score 90 Percent of Seats in Second Round

Junta Won't Let Majority Form Government Anyway

The second round of elections in Egypt have come and gone, and the official seat counts released by the nation’s state media today show the Islamist blocs are winning by an even broader amount than previously expected, with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) scoring two thirds of the seats contested in this round, 40 out of 60.

The second place finisher was the Salafist al-Nour Party, which scored 13 of the remaining seats, meaning the two parties netted some 90 percent of the seats. The two blocs had scored a solid majority of the seats contested in the first round as well.

The third and final round of voting is to begin on January 3, with the hope of releasing final parliamentary features by January 11. Even without seeing the results, it is safe to say the FJP will be the largest plurality, and might even net a distinct majority in their own right. They currently have 47 percent of all seats. In a parliamentary system like Egypt’s, they seem to be a slam dunk to form the next government.

Or they would be if the current military junta, which was only supposed to be in power until an election was held to replace them, but is now saying they won’t allow Islamists to form the new government. Junta officials have insisted they aren’t “representative,” even though voter turnout has been strong and they seem strongly in favor of an FJP-led government. The FJP has said their primary goal in forming a government is to bring the nation under civilian control and end the era of military dominance.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.