Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) is close to clinching the two-thirds parliamentary majority it needs to maintain control over the constitution, according to election results declared today.
The opposition Muslim Brotherhood, which won no more seats outright in troubled voting yesterday, said the authorities robbed them of 13 or 14 wins by denying their supporters access to polling stations and bringing in pro-government judges.
The NDP, led by President Hosni Mubarak, won eight seats outright in voting yesterday, and in 73 of the second-round run-offs next Wednesday both candidates are NDP, according to results read out by an Interior Ministry official.
That assures the NDP of 297 seats in the 454-member parliament, well within reach of the 303 it needs to exclude the opposition from important legislative decisions.
In the run-offs another 54 NDP members face non-NDP rivals, including 35 Brotherhood members who stood as independents because the authorities will not let them form a party.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which has surprised the country with its strong election showing, said the conduct of the voting on Wednesday suggested a change in the government's attitude.
"They stopped voters in places where we are strong from reaching the ballot boxes and they called in judges known to them in advance," said senior Brotherhood member Essam el-Erian.
"Through these two measures we lost the chance to clinch 13 or 14 seats and they knocked out two or three of us. It will become clear next Wednesday whether they intend to continue in this way or whether they will review it," he told reporters.
In the first two stages of the election 17 Brotherhood candidates took the 50 percent of the vote needed to win in the first round and avoid a run-off.