Egypt Military Worried About Islamists
Sources in Egypt’s ruling Supreme Military Council are deeply concerned about the results of the first round of parliamentary elections, the Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Saturday.
On Friday night, Al-Jazeera reported the Islamist bloc won 60 percent of the vote in the first round of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, marking an unprecedented achievement for the country’s Islamist political parties.
According to the Al-Jazeera report, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party won approximately 40 percent of the vote and the radical Islamic Salafi movement’s Al-Nour Party won 20 percent.
Despite its concerns, the council will accept any results of the elections, the Al-Hayat report said. But the results have set off a red light amongst the military leadership.
Two more rounds of voting for the parliament will be held by January. Presidential elections are scheduled to be held before June.
The sources said that the second round of the elections will ensure an even larger victory for the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi movement and may lead to their almost complete control of the parliament, which could cause conflict in regards to the new constitution and the preservation of Egypt as secular state.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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