Egypt Islamists try to hold lead in second round of voting

 

Cairo- Egyptians voted Wednesday in the second round of a parliamentary election with Islamist parties seeking to bolster early gains and secure a dominant position during the transition from army rule.
Islamists have capitalized in the poll on grassroots networks built up even when they were repressed by Hosni Mubarak, though Islamist groups took a back seat initially in the uprising that toppled the president in February.
Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) in the second round of the three-stage vote. The lower house vote will not be completed until January, while the army will not hand over full powers until after a presidential election in mid-2012.
"This is the first time our vote counts, we want to retain our rights," said Fatma Sayed, a government employee in Suez, a district voting in this round, speaking as she queued to cast a ballot in Egypt's first free election in decades.
Islamists ranging from hardliners to moderates secured about two-thirds of the votes in the first round but are not united, so liberals will have scope to stamp their mark on an assembly that will play a key role in drafting a new constitution.
The document will define the future powers of competing democratic institutions after decades of autocratic rule.
It is already the focus of a tussle between Egypt's newly assertive political class and the ruling generals and may become a battleground for Islamists and liberals.
The army-backed cabinet sparked violent protests that killed 42 people last month after it sought to insert articles to shield the military from any future civilian oversight.
That fuelled suspicions that the army wants to cling on to power even after the presidential poll expected in June.
A party list led by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) came top in the first round, with strict Salafi Islamists surprise runners up. Liberals were pushed into third place and are trying to close ranks to fight back.
"I think the major trend will continue (in the second round) with some minor changes. The FJP will be first, but I think the percentage will be reduced relative to the first round," said Hassan Abou Taleb, political analyst at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
He suggested some voters, concerned by the rise of Islamists who they fear could introduce new religious strictures on society, might give a modest boost to liberals, though he did not expect any significant swing.