The Muslim Brotherhood staked its claims for a comfortable victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections after preliminary results showed it would gain the upper hand in the Doctors’ Syndicate elections.

Candidates fielded by the Brotherhood, widely seen as Egypt’s most popular and organised political force, were elected to head boards in 12 governorates, including Fayoum, Dakhlia and Menoufiya.

The Brotherhood did not have it all their own way. Their main competitor, the Independence List, bettered them in the governorates of Ismailiya, Suez, Alexandria, Qena and Aswan.

Khairy Abdel-Dayem, who is endorsed by the Brotherhood, is likely to be voted as the syndicate head.

The Brotherhood claimed a landslide win in the Teachers’ Syndicate elections last month, fuelling expectations that it will secure another headline-grabbing win in November’s anticipated elections for the People’s Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

The group, which was founded in 1928, endured years of repression under the rule of Hosni Mubarak but was given a new lease of life following his ouster in February.

It now operates freely as a political entity with its Freedom and Justice Party contesting the parliamentary elections next month.