Opposition cries foul in Egyptian election

29 Nov, 2010

Opposition charges of ballot stuffing, bullying and dirty tricks clouded a legislative election in Egypt on Sunday in which the ruling party wants to prevent its rivals from repeating their 2005 success.
Some voters were turned away by officials saying there was no election or that polling booths had shut. Others reported ballot boxes filled to the brim only minutes after voting began, rights groups and opposition campaigners said.
Egypt's election commission said the vote was fair and any complaints were being investigated. It added that official results for the whole country would be announced on Tuesday. The banned Muslim Brotherhood, whose candidates are tacitly allowed to run as independents, contested 30 percent of lower house seats after winning an unprecedented 20 percent in 2005. But the rivals expect a lower total this time. Hundreds of their activists were detained ahead of the poll, signalling the government's determination to squeeze its most vocal critics out of parliament before a presidential vote in 2011.
The Brotherhood candidate, Subhi Saleh, accused his NDP rival of distributing "outrageous" fake pamphlets in Saleh's name that said falsely that he was quitting the election. Saleh said later he was roughed up by thugs after he and supporters tried to enter the Abees polling station in Raml.

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