Recount ordered in Egyptian elections

Update at 6 a.m. EST: Egypt's High Election Commission has ordered a to recount all votes in the first round of the country's election, NBC News reported. The votes were counted in General Counting Stations under the supervision of local Egyptian observers, but the HEC now also wants each individual polling station to carry out it own counting as well.

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Story at 3:20 a.m. EST:

CAIRO ? Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, emerging as the biggest winner in the first round of parliamentary elections, is seeking to reassure Egyptians that it will not sacrifice personal freedoms in promoting Islamic law.

The deputy head of the Brotherhood's new political party, Essam el-Erian, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Saturday that the group is not interested in imposing Islamic values on Egypt, home to a sizable Christian minority and others who object to being subject to strict Islamic codes.

"We represent a moderate and fair party," el-Erian said of his Freedom and Justice Party. "We want to apply the basics of Shariah law in a fair way that respects human rights and personal rights," he said, referring to Islamic law.

The comments were the clearest indication that the Brotherhood was distancing itself from the ultraconservative Islamist Nour Party, which appears to have won the second-largest share of votes in the election's first phase.

According to media reports, preliminary results leaked to the press showed the Muslim Brotherhood as getting 40 percent of the vote; the conservative Salafi al-Nour party getting 20 percent of the vote; the liberal and secular al-Kutla and al-Masriya parties getting 15 percent.

Other moderate, secular and progressive parties followed with smaller percentages of the vote, the reportedly leaked results showed, NBC News said.The results could not be independently confirmed.

'We respect all people'
The Nour Party espouses a strict interpretation of Islam similar to that of Saudi Arabia, where the sexes are segregated and women must be veiled and are barred from driving.

The Brotherhood recently denied in a statement that it seeks to form an alliance with the Nour Party in parliament, calling it "premature and mere media speculation."

On Saturday, el-Erian made it clear that the Brotherhood does not share Nour's more hard-line aspirations to strictly enforce Islamic codes in Egyptians' daily lives.

"We respect all people in their choice of religion and life," he said.

Another major check on such an agenda is the council of generals who have run the country since President Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February.

Muslim Brotherhood bends rules to win big in Egypt

The military council, accused by Egypt's protest movement of stalling a transition to civilian and democratic rule, is seeking to limit the powers of the next parliament and maintain close oversight over the drafting of a new constitution.

Egypt already uses Shariah law as the basis for legislation, however Egyptian laws remain largely secular as Shariah does not cover all aspects of modern life.

On its English-language Twitter account, the Brotherhood said that its priorities were to fix Egypt's economy and improve the lives of ordinary Egyptians, "not to change (the) face of Egypt into (an) Islamic state."

Call to accept democracy
El-Erian urged the Brotherhood's political rivals to accept the election results.

"We all believe that our success as Egyptians toward democracy is a real success and we want everyone to accept this democratic system. This is the guarantee for stability," he said.

Video: Egypt votes nearly a year after revolution (on this page)

For decades, Mubarak's regime suppressed the Brotherhood, which was politically banned but managed to establish a vast network of activists and charities offering free food and medical services throughout the country's impoverished neighborhoods and villages.

It is the best organized of Egypt's post-Mubarak political forces.

PhotoBlog: 'Massive' turnout in Egyptian elections

The vote for parliament's lower house is taking place over three stages, with 18 provinces in Egypt yet to vote.

Meanwhile, the swearing-in of a new temporary Cabinet was delayed on Saturday due to disagreements over key posts, including over who will lead the ministry in charge of internal security.

An official in the Interior Ministry said several high-ranking security officials have been named as possible replacements but that some have turned down the offer.

Protesters have also strongly objected to the nominations put forward by newly appointed Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, who served in the same position under ousted President Hosni Mubarak from 1996 to 1999.

Elections finish in March
The country's ruling military general, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, appointed el-Ganzouri as a new interim prime minister last month after the previous premier's government resigned in the wake of a police crackdown on protesters that killed over 40 people.

The interim Cabinet will serve until after the parliamentary elections finish in March. A new government is to be formed after the legislature is seated.

Slideshow: Elections in Egypt (on this page)

Activist Hussein Hammouda, a retired police brigadier, is among those opposed to the names being considered for the Interior Minister post and says someone from outside the police force should be chosen instead.

Protesters in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt's protests, released a statement saying they would continue their sit-in while allowing traffic to resume normally in the area.

There were tens of thousands of protesters in the square in the days leading up to the elections, but numbers have dwindled to several hundred since then.

Protesters demanding el-Ganzouri be replaced as prime minister said they will keep up another sit-in outside the Cabinet headquarters.

NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45540682/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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