A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

On the Eve of Round Two

Phase Two of Egypt's Parliamentary vote will be held tomorrow and Thursday, in nine more governorates,  including Giza in the greater Cairo area. It will be interesting to see if the large Islamist vote seen in the first phase is repeated; liberal parties have been trying to coalesce rather than split the vote this time, but with uncertain success. In some parts of  the countryside, parties representing stalwarts of the former NDP, or fallul ("remnants") as they're now known in Egypt, may show strength due to longstanding patterns of patronage. It should be informative, whether we like the results or not.

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