Egypt parliament elects Saad al-Katatni as new speaker

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Egypt's first freely elected parliament was convened Monday in Cairo. 70 percent of the new MPs are members of Islamist parties. Most of the seats were occupied by the Party of Freedom and Justice, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. The second strongest force is the Salafist party of Nour.

Nour chairman Emad Eddine Abdel-Ghaffour has called all parties to work together in this time - whether they are Islamists or not.

Outside the building, activists protested in demand that the ruling military council be held accountable for the "crimes" they have committed during their rule. Observers fear that behind closed doors, the military junta and the Muslim Brotherhood are conducting talks to agree on a presidential candidate.

The first session was tumultuous: It began with a minute of silence for the victims of the 25^th January revolt. Then MPs discussed the exact formula for the swearing in of the new Speaker Saad al-Katatni,of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party..

The task of the parliament is to form a committee to draft a new constitution.