Cairo ( CNN ) -- Islamist parties made dramatic advances in Egypt 's parliamentary elections during the first round of voting for lawmakers this week , a result reflecting a growing embrace of religious-oriented sentiment across turbulent North Africa . `` We accept the results of the elections in any case because it 's the will of the people , and our rivals should embrace it too because this is the true democracy we fought for and we wish our liberal brothers better results in the next two rounds , '' Mahmoud Ghozlan , spokesman of the relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood , whose Freedom and Justice Party ( FJP ) won 40 % of the vote . Al Noor Salafi Movement , a hard-line Muslim group , had the second-highest total , 20 % , in the first round of voting for the lower house of parliament , according to Yousri Abdel Kareem , head of the executive office of the Higher Judicial Election Council . In the first election after the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak , the tallies reflected similar results in Morocco and Tunisia . Moderate Islamists in those North African nations prevailed in recent elections amid the wave of political discontent across the Arabic-speaking world this year . Secularists were n't surprised at the result but they were stunned that some longtime secular groups performed poorly . `` The strong showing of the Islamists should serve to mobilize more support for secular candidate , '' said Mohamed Ghoneim , speaking for the liberal Egyptian Bloc that garnered 15 % of the vote . `` We need to build on that and we are going for it . '' Ghoneim said voters were turned off by some secular candidates because they come from Mubarak 's old National Democratic Party . The Muslim Brotherhood is entrenched in mainstream Egyptian politics . Most are highly educated -- doctors , lawyers , engineers , professors and businessmen -- and come from solidly middle-class backgrounds . Al Noor Salafi is the first Salafist group to register as a political party in Egypt . Salafis are conservative , religious purists and have been accused of stoking sectarian strife against Egypt 's Christian minority and of plotting to undermine the country 's fledgling democracy . This week 's voting in Egypt marked the initial part of a complex , multi-step process that will first pick members of the lower house of parliament . Voters had to cast three votes , two for independent candidates and one for a party or coalition . Four independent candidates won but runoff elections for those who did n't win clear majorities will be held Monday and Tuesday . One of the four is Amr Hamzawy , once a research director at theÂ Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a spokesman of the `` Board of Wise Men , '' which worked to foster negotiations between the government and protesters . Presidential elections will be held by June , according to the military , which has rulied the country since Mubarak 's fall . `` The success of Islamist parties will make it much more difficult , if not impossible , for the Egyptian military to prolong its political control and to recreate a political system along the lines of Hosni Mubarak , as it appeared intent on doing . '' Marina Ottaway , a senior associate of Carnegie 's Middle East program , said in an analysis on Friday . Voter turnout was initially reported by the country 's election board at 62 % , but the board said it would recalculate the figure after reporters raised questions about the number of registered voters used in the calculation , suggesting the true figure was lower . Abdel Moez Ibrahim , head of the judicial election committee said problems arose during the polling that will be addressed in the next round of voting . They include campaigning on the days of the elections , long lines and the late arrival of a limited number of ballots . Ibrahim said sending vehicles to pick up judges and handing out paper ballots the night before elections are among solutions to problems . Ibrahim said the process has been triumphant for Egyptian democracy . `` The winner of these elections is the Egyptian people , '' he said . As for the future , the Carnegie analysis says `` the response of the military and secular parties , and the political acumen of the FJP '' will determine whether the future government will be `` dominated by Islamists , including hard-line Salafis , or a less threatening alliance of the FJP and secular parties , '' Ottaway said . CNN 's Joe Sterling contributed to this report .
NEW : Egyptians are real `` winners '' of election process , official says . Liberals say they 'll try harder in the next two rounds . The Muslim Brotherhood calls results the `` will of the people . he Islamist surge reflects a trend in North Africa .