CAIRO: The results of the Shoura council elections run-offs, announced late Tuesday by the head of the High Elections Commission (HEC) Adel Andraus, showed a sweeping victory for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) which grabbed 14 of the 16 contested seats. The results of the second round came as no surprise since the first round gave the NDP 51 of the 88 seats in parliament's upper house. The first round witnessed a fierce competition between the 96 NDP candidates and their 19 nemeses belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood whose candidates failed to make it to the run-offs. One death occurred on the first day of elections following clashes between the supporters of two contenders in the Northern Nile Delta. "This is the NDP vs. the NDP kind of elections, said political analyst Amr El Choubeki. He confirmed that the participation of the MB was weak. With only 19 candidates, they didn't represent a real threat to the NDP. "There is nothing to justify how badly-run these elections were, he added. "The forgery and dishonesty is simply unacceptable. NDP spokesperson Mohamed Kamal declined to comment saying Aly El Din Helal is only one authorized to talk about the Shoura elections. Helal could not be reached for comment. Mohamed Khalil Kuwaita, an NDP MP, said the accusations of election violations are "repetitive. They surface after each election, he explained. The results are truly representative of the will of the people, Kuwaita added. Complaints that voters were unable to access the ballot stations, that ballot boxes were switched, votes were rigged and that MB supporters were harassed were reported by several civil organizations including the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and Al-Naqib Center for monitoring democracy. The Daily Star Egypt was in Mensheyat Al-Qanater and witnessed many of the reported transgressions. Many voters were told they could not cast their vote because the elections were over. Regardless of their affiliations, voters were turned back at the ballot stations. Another obstacle was the inability of observers to monitor the electoral process. According to official sources, the second round witnessed a turn-out of 26.19 percent in 5990 sub-committees compared to nearly 30 percent in the first round that took place in 32,683 ballot stations and was overseen by 600 judges. Preceding the elections, police cracked down on the Brotherhood, resulting in the arrest of nearly 1,000 of their supporters. Kuwaita said the failure of the MB to win any seats is represents voters' will. "The last word is for the voters. The elections, Choubki noted, "are a symbolic action to portray a certain image of the NDP and the government.
