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Egyptians voted earlier today in a run-off election, following last week’s first post-revolution elections. The Muslim Brotherhood, which had been banned from running in elections during Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship, and who played a peripheral role in his overthrow earlier this year, made the biggest gains. Their Freedom and Justice Party won the most seats – 37 percent – in Egypt’s new 498 seat parliament in elections that the AP is calling Egypt’s “freest and fairest in living memory.” However, the elections are staggered, and this latest one elected a third of the Parliament. The last of the run off elections will take place early next year. Egypt’s most progressive electoral coalition, called The Egyptian Bloc, has won 13% of the vote. Egypt’s army, which took over from the Mubarak regime, is now expected to start to answer to a civilian government. However, they still have the authority to appoint a number of deputies and oversee the formation of the government. The military had come under fire for its violent crackdown of pro-democracy protesters, including brutal beatings, killings, and imprisonment this year. It is not yet clear if Egypt’s new political landscape will be much freer. The elections have thus far been marked by stiff competition among largely hard-line Islamic fundamentalist parties.

Meanwhile in Syria where the revolution for democracy continues to face violent repression, President Bashar Al Assad has agreed to allow in observers from the Arab League. The agreement has been weeks in the making, with the group of regional Arab countries making many concessions along the way. Last month the Arab League suspended Syria from its membership over reports of mass violence and killing of pro-democracy protesters. If it doesn’t allow the monitors in, Syria is currently facing sanctions 0n its trade and banking sectors, which could have severe repercussions for the regime. The sanctions also include a travel ban and a freezing of the country’s assets. The government of France in the mean time is asserting that there is a “humanitarian crisis” in Syria and has proposed the creation of “humanitarian corridors” to deliver food and medicine to civilians. Turkey, which shares a border with Syria, has been urging most strongly for action to be taken on Syria and is pushing for a “buffer zone” to contain possible refugee influxes. A new report recently by the United Nations has revealed serious abuses of human rights which were found to have been ordered by the “highest levels” of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. The investigation showed that Syrian troops engaged in “summary execution, arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, sexual violence, as well as violations of children’s rights.” More than 3,500 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began this March.

GUEST: Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and Chair of Middle Eastern studies at the University of San Francisco and serves as a contributing editor of Tikkun.