Egypt elects its first parliament since the fall of Mubarek

After three rounds of voting over a six-week period, Egypt's 498 member parliament has finally been revealed. The Freedom and Justice Party of the Muslim Brotherhood (FJP) comprise nearly 2/3 of all the Parliamentary seats, with the ultra conservative Nour party comprising 1/4 and the rest of the seats comprising of liberals. Liberals are considering aligning with the more moderate FJP, which the Western diplomats support because of fears that the hard-line Salafists (of the Nour party) will try to inject their conservative views into the new Constitution. Both the FJP and the Salafists are Islamic, and there are Western fears that the two will align themselves in the name of Islam. US officials have greatly ignored the Nour party in support of the FJP, but there is a diplomatic meeting scheduled for Sunday. Salafists have so far cooperated and seem open to compromise on certain issues, but they have also pledged to stick to their conservative Islamic principles and wish to institute Islamic Law in the new Egyptian Constitution.

Jill Laumbacher

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