Cairo shuns some civilian leaders

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CAIRO, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Egyptian authorities maintained some new ministers wouldn't be civilians, adding final election results weren't expected until Friday.

Egyptians voted Monday in their first post-revolution election despite unrest the week prior in Cairo's Tahrir Square, home of the demonstrations that ended President Hosni Mubarak's reign.

The Muslim Brotherhood, in statements posted this week on its official Web site, claimed an early lead. In an update late Wednesday, the group claimed its Freedom and Justice Party secured more than 40 percent of the seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The Muslim Brotherhood took 20 percent of the seats in Parliament in 2005 by running as independents but was wiped off the political map during the last elections under the Mubarak regime in 2010.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the ruling military authority that took control after Mubarak's ouster, announced through the official MENA news agency that election results would be delayed until Friday.

The Muslim Brotherhood had said its observers had seen some irregularities at the polls, though the election was viewed as largely peaceful. Some polling stations, the organization said, weren't equipped properly.

SCAF faced mounting frustration over the pace at which it was ushering in a civilian government. Caretaker Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, MENA said, stressed the country's next interior minister wouldn't be a civilian and only the military authorities could usher in a new government.

The official news agency notes that presidential contender Mohammed ElBaradei plans to attend rallies in Tahrir Square planned for Friday.