Muslim Brotherhood makes gains in Egypt poll

Muslim Brotherhood makes gains in Egypt poll
11/17/2005 10:40:00 AM GMT

The Muslim Brotherhood won more than double the seats of Egypt's main
opposition in parliament in the early stages of legislative elections, a
major advance for the banned but tolerated Islamist group.

"We won 34 seats and we could have won even more had there not been
wrongdoing," Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood's deputy leader, said following
first round run-offs.

The movement's candidates, campaigning under the banner "Islam is the
solution" in the three-phase election, seek an overall tally of between 50
and 70 seats in the 454-seat parliament.

But President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party is expected
to retain overwhelming dominance of parliament and has won at least 68 of
164 seats contested so far, according to preliminary results that were
denounced by many news reports as marred by fraud.

After being banned for nearly half a century, Muslim Brotherhood may seek to
use a greater presence in parliament to push its case for legitimisation.

"We connect better with Egyptians and understand them better than others
do," Mr Habib said, commenting on the poor showing of other leftist and
liberal parties.

"What has allowed the Brotherhood to do well is their persistence, their
sound and careful logistical planning and the fact that they placed
unlimited resources in these elections," said Mohamed Sayyed Said, deputy
director of the Al Ahram Centre for Strategic and Political Studies.

"Other opposition parties have not managed to mobilise the youth like the
Brotherhood has, which is one of its many strengths," he said.

Source: Financial Times
http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/world_full_story.asp?service_id=1868


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