Egypt awaits poll results, Tahrir protest planned

Egypt awaits poll results, Tahrir protest planned

Egypt will hear the results of elections which Islamist parties look set to win on Friday.

Egyptians voting freely for the first time since army officers ousted the king in 1952 seem willing to give Islamists a chance.

"We tried everyone, why not try sharia (Islamic law) once?" asked Ramadan Abdel Fattah, 48, a bearded civil servant.

Parliament, whose exact makeup will be clear only after Egypt's voting process ends in January, may challenge the power of the generals who took over in February after an uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak, an ex-air force chief.

Disagreements

Under pressure to make way for civilian rule, the military council said it will keep powers to appoint or fire a cabinet while the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest Islamic group, appeared to back off a statement from the party's head that the majority in parliament should form a government.

The first-round results had been expected on Thursday, but some constituencies did not complete their counts on schedule.

Protests call

Youthful demonstrators have called their protests for after Friday prayers in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of opposition to Mubarak's rule, to remember the ‘martyred’ and to reinforce their demand that the army step down immediately.
The world is closely watching the election, keen for stability in Egypt, which has a peace treaty with Israel, owns the Suez Canal linking Europe and Asia, and which in Mubarak's time was an ally in countering Islamist militants in the region.

Washington and its European allies have urged the generals to step aside swiftly and make way for civilian rule. But they also worry that Islamist rule in Egypt might erode social freedoms and threaten Cairo's 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

REUTERS/Ehimen/Williams