Middle East News

Egypt's oldest party out to salvage image after poor poll results

Dec 3, 2011, 8:01 GMT

Cairo - Egypt's oldest liberal party, Al-Wafd, Saturday pledged immediate steps to salvage its image after its candidates performed badly in the first round of the country's parliamentary election.

The head of the party, al-Sayyed al-Badawi, attributed the poor results to insufficient campaigning and rivalry among Al-Wafd's contenders themselves, reported the semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram.

Al-Wafd, created after World War I, garnered 13 out of 168 seats that were up for grabs in the first round of the Egyptian vote held this week.

Islamists, mainly from the influential Muslim Brotherhood, made big gains in elections, Egypt's first since former president Hosny Mubarak's overthrow in February.

'Media publicity will be intensified for Al-Wafd candidates in the second and third stages of the vote,' al-Badawi said.

The next two rounds of elections are to be held on December 14 and January 3.

Full results are set to be announced on January 13.