Islamists to push for stricter code in Egypt

EGYPT’S ultra-conservative Islamist party said yesterday it plans to push for a stricter religious code in Egypt after claiming surprisingly strong gains in this week’s initial round of voting for parliament, the first polls since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.

Egypt’s election commission announced only a trickle of results yesterday and said 62% of eligible voters cast ballots in the highest turnout in Egypt’s modern history. Abdel-Mooaez Ibrahim, head of High Election Commission, jokingly described it as “the highest since the time of pharaohs”.

Preliminary counts leaked by judges and individual political groups indicated the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm took the largest share of votes.