Men islamisterne vandt også valget stort
Egypt’s new parliament has elected a speaker from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement whose Freedom and Justice Party won recent elections, BBC online writes Monday.
Mohammed Saad al-Katatni was chosen by a large majority of MPs at the inaugural session of the lower chamber, the People’s Assembly.
It was the first meeting of the assembly since the uprising last February that forced former President Hosni Mubarak from power.
Mr Katatni was backed by 399 out of 503 MPs, state media say.
Islamists dominated the elections held for the People’s Assembly over the past three months, winning 73 per cent of the seats.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party won 235 seats, the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party 121 and the moderate al-Wasat Party 10.
The People’s Assembly’s priority is to select a 100-member panel to draft a new constitution that will be put to a referendum before a presidential election in June, when the ruling generals are scheduled to step down.
Liberals fear the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling military council will find a way to share power, BBC notes.
They believe the military may be allowed to maintain its privileges and perhaps be given a veto of a foreign and defence policy, while the Brotherhood may secure greater control over Egyptian society.
Liberal and secular parties polled badly, with the New Wafd securing 38 seats, the Egyptian bloc 35 and the Reform and Development Party 10.
The Revolution Continues, a group formed by youth activists behind the uprising that ousted Mr Mubarak, won only seven seats.
