Islamist parties have captured more than 60 percent of the vote in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections. The Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, garnered 36.6 percent of the 9,734,413 valid ballots cast for party lists. The Nour Party, a more hardline Islamist group, captured 24.4 percent of the vote. The partial results only give an indication of how the new parliament will look like, as two more rounds of voting in 18 of Egypt's 27 provinces are yet be held in the multi-stage voting that will run through January. It is not yet clear whether the Islamist parties will form one coalition inside the parliament, or the Brotherhood will seek to ally with the liberal forces against the more radical Nour Party. The final shape of the parliament will not be announced before January. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, emerging as the biggest winner in the first round of parliamentary elections, is seeking to reassure Egyptians that it will not sacrifice personal freedoms in promoting Islamic law. The deputy head of the Brotherhood's new political party, Essam el-Erian, told on Saturday that the group is not interested in imposing Islamic values on Egypt, home to a sizable Christian minority and others who object to being subject to strict Islamic codes.
