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Islamists win 70 pct of Egypt's Parliament

CAIRO, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Islamist parties in Egypt captured about 70 percent of seats in the first parliamentary elections since President Hosni Mubarak was forced from office.

The overall makeup of the party list seats for the upcoming People's Assembly was announced Saturday by Egypt's Supreme Electoral Commission, al-Ahram reported.

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The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party took 127 seats, representing 38 percent of the 332 party list seats available.

The Salafist Nour Party, an ultra-conservative Islamist party, took 29 percent of the list seats, and the moderate Islamist Al-Wasat Party secured 3 percent.

The liberal New Wafd and the secular Egyptian Bloc, both non-Islamist parties, took 21 percent, or 69 seats, collectively.

Under Egypt's complex electoral system, two-thirds of parliamentary seats are allocated to party list candidates and the remaining third are voted for directly, the BBC reported.

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