Islamist parties took the lead in the second round of Egypt's staggered parliamentary elections, and are set to dominate the new legislature, official results showed Saturday, dpa reported.
The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party came on top in seats allocated for party tickets, followed by Al-Nour, a newly formed hardline Salafist party, the chief of the Election Commission, Abdel Moez Ibrahim, told reporters in Cairo.
Full results are to be announced at the end of the three-stage elections in mid-January.
The Muslim Brotherhood won 35 of 60 seats contested by individual candidates in the second round and a run-off vote held in the past two weeks, state television reported.
Al-Nour came second with 13 seats, the report said.
Both parties secured more than 65 per cent of the seats in the first round held in late November.
The elections, Egypt's first since president Hosny Mubarak stepped down in February, are based on a mixed electoral system of closed party lists and individual candidacy.
The results for 18 seats in the second round were suspended pending a court ruling over alleged vote irregularities, said Ibrahim.
He added that 43 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in the second round.
Each round of balloting is held in nine of Egypt's 27 governorates. The final stage is set to begin on January 3, and will run for two days.
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