(AFP Photo)
By: Emily Crane
In student union elections Monday, opposition parties dominated over the Muslim Brotherhood at Mansoura, Cairo, Helwan and Aswan universities.
At Mansoura University, the student coalitions Intilakah and Sout El-Talaba won the majority of the seats for the faculties of law, engineering, science and commerce, according to state-run news agency MENA. These two coalitions are composed of students from a number of opposition parties including Al-Dostour, the Popular Current and 6 April Movement.
By contrast, the Muslim Brotherhood was only able to claim 11 seats out of a total of 224 between these four faculties, with none at all in the Faculty of Science, MENA reported. Their greatest success was in the Faculty of Arts where they managed to claim 22 seats out of 56.
At Cairo University, the coalition Hankamil Al- Mishwar, composed of Popular Current members and independent student voters, won the majority of the seats for the Faculty of Law, leaving only two seats to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Mohammed Hilal, head of the student union at the Faculty of Law.
The coalition El Taraf El-Rabei won the majority of the seats in the Faculty of Economics and Political Science according to student union member Nouran Amr. Ana Masri won the majority in the Faculty of Arts.
At Helwan University, Sout El-Talaba also dominated over the Muslim Brotherhood in the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Athletic Training, according to an official report by the Association for the Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE).
The Muslim Brotherhood was unable to gain any ground in Aswan either, where the majority of the seats in the Faculty of Arts went to the opposition coalition, according to AFTE.
However, the Muslim Brotherhood was not entirely without victories Monday. Unsurprisingly, at Al-Azhar University, the Brotherhood won in four out of the five faculties, just barely losing to Al-Nour Party in the Faculty of Medicine, and winning 100% of the vote in the Faculty of Islamic studies.
At Zagazig University, the Muslim Brotherhood also managed to obtain 50% of the vote, tying with coalition Al-Jil Al-Hor which represents the Democratic Front Party.
Opposition groups have been winning the majority of student votes since the beginning of the elections earlier this month with victories at Ain Shams, Assiut, Alexandira, Menufiya, Banha, and Minya campuses where the Muslim Brotherhood secured easy victories in last year’s elections.
Additional reporting by Fady Salah.
