Mubarak's ruling party leads in Egypt vote

The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) won 68 percent of seats in the first stage of Egypt's parliamentary elections, official results showed on Thursday.

Justice Minister Mahmoud Aboul Leil said the NDP, which is headed by President Hosni Mubarak, won 112 seats out of the 164 contested in the first of three stages of voting.

Independents won 47 seats in two days of voting, with Muslim Brotherhood members making up 34 of the independents.

The officially banned Islamist group has made the most of unusual leeway from the authorities to campaign for parliament. The Brotherhood had 15 seats in the outgoing parliament.

Three officially recognized secular opposition parties won five seats.

The NDP won 85 seats in run-offs on Tuesday, Aboul Leil told reporters, reading final official results. Turnout over the two days of voting was 24 percent, he said.

The second stage of voting for parliament's 444 seats begins on Sunday with any run-offs six days later. The final stage begins on December 1, Reuters reports.

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