Egypt Salafists want strict religious code

Spokesman Yousseri Hamad said the Salafi Nour party expects to get 30 per cent of the vote. Their party appeared to lead the polls in the Nile Delta province of Kafr el-Sheik,in the rural area of Fayoum,which is known for high rates of illiteracy and poverty,and in parts of their longtime stronghold of Alexandria.

Hamad said that his party is willing to cooperate with the rest of the secular,liberal and Islamist forces,if it will serve the interest of the nation.

This weeks vote,held in nine provinces,will determine about 30 per cent of the 498 seats in the Peoples Assembly,parliaments lower house. Two more rounds,ending in January,will cover Egypts other 18 provinces.

The new parliament,in theory,is tasked with selecting a 100-member panel to draft Egypts new constitution. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces,which took control of the country after Mubaraks fall in February,has suggested that it will choose 80 of those members.

Salafi groups speak confidently about their ambition to turn Egypt into a state where personal freedoms,including that of speech and womens dress are constrained by Islamic Shariah codes.

In the land of Islam,I cant let people decide what is permissible or what is prohibited. Its God who gives the answers as to what is right and what is wrong, Hamad said. The partys strong showing worries many liberals and Coptic Christians,who make up about 10 per cent of Egypts population.