Electoral authorities in Egypt say the ruling National Democratic Party has won all but two of the 16 upper house seats in run-off elections. The other two seats went to independent candidates allied with the NDP. Last week's first round of voting gave the NDP a commanding majority in the 88-seat Shura consultative council. The opposition Muslim Brotherhood failed to win any seats following a massive crackdown on members of the group and violence in the first round in which one person was killed. The group, which is outlawed in Egypt, fields candidates standing as independents.
Only candidates who took at least 50% of the vote in the first round won their seats outright. Run-offs were held to decide other seats.
The final result was 84 seats to NDP candidates, three to independents and one to the left-leaning Tagammu Party. There are 264 seats in the upper house, which has limited legislative powers; 176 are elected and 88 appointed by the president.
These are the first elections to be held in Egypt after changes to the constitution aimed in part at limiting the electoral chances of the Muslim Brotherhood. The constitution has been changed to ban political activity based on religion and to weaken judicial supervision of elections. Two major opposition parties, al-Wafd and the Nasserite Arab Democratic Party have boycotted the election.