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Mubarak's party claims upper house poll victory

Egyptian President Hosni Muba-rak's ruling party has won the vast majority of seats in this week's elections for the upper house of parliament, shutting out the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in polling critics derided as flawed.

Official results released on Wednesday showed the ruling National Democratic Party won 69 of 71 seats in Monday's Shura Council elections. A runoff for 17 seats where no candidate won a majority will be held next Monday, the Supreme Election Committee said.

The 71 winners did not include any names from the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which fielded 19 candidates. One seat went to a candidate from a leftist opposition party and the other to an independent. Twelve candidates won uncontested.

The Brotherhood also said not a single one of its candidates was among the 17 running in the second round of the elections to be held next Monday.

The Brotherhood and several human-rights groups have accused the government of violations and irregularities during Monday's elections, including barring opposition supporters from entering polling stations and rigging the vote. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights said observers witnessed attacks on opposition supporters, voters banned from polls and instances of vote-buying.

One person was killed and several injured in clashes between supporters of rival candidates. Hundreds of Brotherhood members were arrested on Monday.

However, the election committee statement said all complaints were investigated by judges, and that the polls took place in a calm manner except for minor incidents that did not affect the process.

A senior Brotherhood member criticized the elections, calling them a ``formal procedure'' that supports the Mubarak's party.

``I don't think that there is a single wise Egyptian who hopes that there will be a free and fair elections under the current ruling government,'' said Abdel Gelil el-Sharnoubi, the editor of the Brotherhood's Web site.
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