 ONGOING SPECTACLE: The first stage of this year's parliamentary election is over; Tuesday's run-offs in 74 constituencies represented the end of a hotly-contested process involving thousands of candidates battling for hundreds of seats in eight of Egypt's 26 governorates. The rest of the country will go to the polls on 20 November and 1 December, meaning scenes like this will soon appear elsewhere. The posters make clear that the fiercest races will probably be between candidates from the ruling National Democratic Party and those from the Muslim Brotherhood, just like they were in the first round. photo: AP parent page (17 - 23 November 2005, issue #769) |