Yousif Qardawy, considered by many as the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, says that the Brotherhood will not control the next parliament if people vote for the amendments, and they will only run for 35 per cent of its seats.

“The Brotherhood will not gain the fruit of the revolution alone,” he said, adding they will not run a candidate for the presidency. Qardawy said that the former regime used the Brotherhood as "a scarecrow in order to justify its presence in power”.

It is not fair, according to Qaradawy, to blame the Brotherhood for being the most organised political force while it has suffered from the regime’s oppression.

“The Salafi movement will not reap the majority in parliament either,” said Qaradawy, estimating that they will only win two or three seats because the Egyptian people differentiate between those who adopt a moderate perspective of Islam and those who adopt a fundamentalist one.

“There is no harm if the Salafis get two or three seats in the new parliament as they represent a sector of the society."

As for the Gamaat Islamiya (the Islamic Group), Qaradawi thinks that the group has changed its approach and became closer to moderate Islam after renouncing violence. He predicts they would also only win two or three seats.