Cairo, December 08: Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi promised to transfer some of his ruling military council’s executive powers to Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri.
The military did not go into specifics on what new powers the Cabinet will have but said only that it will continue to control the judiciary and the armed forces. Military rulers have been tightly in control of managing the country’s affairs since Hosni Mubarak stepped down in February, irking critics who are demanding civilian rule.
The new government replaces an interim administration that resigned in the wake of deadly clashes between security and protesters last month.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s political party said Wednesday it had won a majority of the seats up for grabs in Egypt’s run-off elections, which would give it at least 40 percent of the seats in parliament decided thus far.
The Freedom and Justice Party said in a statement that it won 36 of the 56 seats awarded to individual candidates in voting which concluded on Tuesday.
The Islamist group already won almost 37 percent of the vote in earlier polling, which awarded seats according to party lists.
The Brotherhood’s political arm and other Islamist blocs have so far dominated the first election since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February, with liberal parties trailing.
Al-Nour, comprised of followers of the Islamic Salafi trend, adheres to strict religious observance and believes Islamic laws, or Shariah, should be the basis of the Egyptian state.
Some Islamists, however, faced a tough battle in Cairo. Candidate Mostafa al-Naggar of the newly-formed liberal Justice Party said he won against a Muslim Brotherhood candidate in the run-off vote.
The Brotherhood meanwhile said that one of their candidates had beaten a particularly controversial Al-Nour candidate, Abdel-Monem el-Shahat, in the northern coastal city of Alexandria.
El-Shahat caused a stir during the run-up to the vote by saying the novels of Egypt’s Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, read widely in Egyptian schools, are “all prostitution.”
Both the Muslim Brotherhood and various Salafi groups have long offered social and medical services to millions of impoverished Egyptians, winning them political backing. Most of the parties formed after the downfall of Mubarak lack name recognition and thus have less clout, especially in rural areas.
The voting for the 498-member elected parliament is staggered over three stages, with two-thirds of the country yet to cast ballots.
Meanwhile, an interim government led by a prime minister appointed by the military is scheduled to be sworn in on Wednesday. It will likely only govern Egypt until elections for both houses of parliament conclude in March.
Kamal el-Ganzouri was named to the premiership last month after the previous interim administration resigned in the wake of violent clashes between protesters and police.
However, military rulers will retain power over the armed forces and the judiciary.
–Agencies