FJP claims 50 per cent in polls, Al-Nour second

The Freedom and Justice Party has claimed the lead in the first phase of Egypt's election Official results for the first phase of the Egypt elections are not expected until Thursday evening, but counts continue to point to Islamist parties sweeping the polls. A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood Sobhi Saleh told the Associated Press that its Freedom and Justice Party had won 50 per cent. It also reported apparent success for the conservative Salafi Al-Nour party.
Partial results from across the first-round provinces - including Cairo, Alexandria and the southern cities of Luxor and Assiut - showed the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in the lead, according to judges overseeing the count.
"This clearly confirms that the Egyptian people exercised their right to politically isolate elements of the former regime," said the FJP in a statement on Wednesday.
About half to 80 per cent of the votes had been tallied in the various provinces.
 But the Al-Nour Party and a liberal-secular alliance known as the Egyptian Bloc appeared to be making strong showing in some places, judges said.
Official results from the first round will be announced Thursday, before a series of runoff ballots on Monday.
Egyptian media were in an uproar Tuesday when it was found out that the Egyptian government was expecting 21 tonnes of tear-gas imports from the US. Howeverm the US embassy in Cairo said today that future exports of US-made teargas could be blocked if the Egyptian authorities continue to use it to cause death and injury.
Street clashes between revolutionaries and security forces saw countless gas canisters - the majority of them American-made - launched at civilians, causing serious injuries.
Meanwhile, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood has called for a parliamentary system of government in Egypt. Writing in UK's "The Guardian", Essam El-Arian, vice-president of the FJP said: "Any government that does not enjoy the confidence of parliament will not be able to remain in office; and that the formation and survival of a government will be decided by the parliament's majority."
 A military council member said at the weekend the new parliament would not have the authority to dismiss newly appointed prime minister Kamal El-Ganzouri’s government or form a new one. Yet observers questioned whether the council would be able to resist the will of a chamber elected in a fair vote, especially if voting carries on smoothly.
Election monitors reported logistical hiccups and some campaign violations but no serious violence to disrupt proceedings. Election posters and banners festooned towns and cities while judges officiated under the eye of troops, police and election monitors. The outcome of the election in one of the Middle East’s most influential powers will help shape the future of a region convulsed by uprisings against decades of autocracy.
Last week was Egypt’s most violent since Mubarak was ousted: 43 people were killed in clashes triggered by the protests against the military council, mostly in streets around Tahrir.
Egypt's health ministry spokesman Mohamed El-Sherbeeny said that 10 people are in a critical condition after clashes in Tahrir Square last night following the closure of the polls. He said 108 were injured in total.
Tuesday night’s violence in Tahrir erupted when youths who could not be identified had tried to enter the square, one of the protest organisers said.
Live television footage showed petrol bombs arching through the night sky in the direction of the square and exploding on the road by Cairo's landmark Egyptian Museum and not far from the protesters’ encampment.
Many Egyptians were worried elections would be bloody. Instead, the vote won international praise.
However, military police commander General Hamdy Badeen said although Egypt's armed forces respected the right to protest it would without doubt take action against those causing tension between the army and the people.
Badeen stated the military was 'of the people', and would not abandon them, wanting to see democracy and freedom enforced in Egypt.
The commander added that the ruling military junta was at fault for not responding to all those who accused them of corruption, complying with the old regime, and questioned their integrity.
He told people at a polling station in Cairo who showed up to thank the general for the army's role in securing elections, that the army would not hesitate to respond to those who are suspicious of the military junta but are waiting for the right time to take action against those who cause tension between the army and the people.
He said the military would not remove those demonstrating in Tahrir Square and they had the right and freedom to hold a sit-in, adding that the concrete barrier in Mohamed Mahmoud Street was not to meant to serve as a permanent wall but as a buffer zone between protesters and police forces. Badeen requested citizens reject those who are attempting to overthrow security forces and shed scepticism of the armed forces' integrity.
The successful first stage of the election was a boost for army leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who insisted voting should go ahead despite the unrest last week.
After each round there will be a run-off vote, and then a further six rounds of voting for the upper house of parliament from January.
Both the schedule and the voting system are fiendishly complex, meaning a clear interpretation of Wednesday's results might take some time to emerge once figures are given late in the day.
Voters were asked to cast three ballots in the election - two for individual candidates and another for a party or coalition.
The results will be final for the individual candidates - who will go into a run-off vote next week unless someone wins a majority outright - and preliminary figures for the party lists.
Turnout for the vote was high, with long queues forming before polling stations opened on Monday morning. A member of the interim military leadership has forecast 70 percent of voters exercised their right.
The military rulers known as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) expressed their "happiness" on Tuesday, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent his congratulations for the "generally calm and orderly" conduct of the poll.
The backdrop to the vote had been ominous after a week of protests calling for the resignation of the SCAF leaders who stepped in at the end of Mubarak's rule. Forty-two people were killed and more than 3,000 injured.
Analysts warn that the country faces huge challenges ahead in its long, complicated and uncertain transition to democracy that is scheduled to finish only in June next year under the current timetable.
Once two houses of parliament are elected by March after six rounds of voting across the country, a new constitution must be drawn up and a president elected.
There are also concerns about whether the new army leaders are prepared to hand over their powers to a civilian government.
In other news, Ganzouri announced on Wednesday that he would appoint a civilian minister of civilian aviation in his new cabinet.
El-Ganzouri’s statement came after Egyptian pilots threatened to close Egyptian airspace on Thursday morning if the prime minister did not appoint a civilian to head the ministry. Employees of the ministry, Cairo International Airport and Egypt Air have long demanded the appointment of a civilian minister rather than a military officer to run the ministry.
 After the ousting of Mubarak in February 2011, the aviation sector in Egypt witnessed several strikes by employees whose demands included the appointment a civilian as minister of civilian aviation.
In addition, El-Ganzouri announced the return of the Ministry of Food Supply, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the creation of a Ministry of Revolution's Martyrs Affairs.
There has been much speculation about the makeup of the new cabinet especially after several prominent figures refused posts, such as prominent journalists Adel Hammouda and Magdy El-Galad who both turned down the minister of information position.
 Interestingly, Egypt's Minister of Industry and Trade, Dr. Mahmoud Issa, has stated that his country was not going to fully halt commercial ties with Syria. The Egyptian minister explained that blocking the bilateral trade between the two countries would only cause additional suffering to the Syrian people.
According to official figures, Egypt exports goods worth some US$2 billion per year to Syria. Imports from Syria amount to about US$700 million annually.