CAIRO — Islamist parties were poised Thursday to win a majority of seats in Egypt’s first parliament since President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, in an apparent electoral sweep that could mark a conservative shift in the country’s politics.
The Muslim Brotherhood has long been the most organized opposition group and is more moderate than some other Islamist groups. But a surprising twist has been the strong showing of the ultraconservative Salafist Nour party, whose emergence as a major player could have profound implications for Egyptian political and cultural life.
While the balloting this week was only the first round in a multiphase parliamentary vote that will last until March, analysts said the Islamists’ apparent early success reflects the identity-based campaigns that preceded the vote.
“Egyptians were asked a question of identity: Do you want this country to be secular, or do you want it to be Islamic? People chose Islamic,” said Ibrahim Houdaiby, an analyst and former member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Early projections showed the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party taking more than 40 percent of the votes in the nine provinces that voted this week, followed by the Nour party with anywhere from 10 to 25 percent.
