CAIRO, Egypt — Clashes broke out between police and members of Egypt’s largest opposition group Saturday, and authorities arrested hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members as tensions intensified ahead of next week’s parliamentary elections.
At least 10 people were injured when baton-wielding police dispersed a rally for local candidate Mohammed Fayyad in Sharqiya province, north of Cairo, said Abdel Galil el-Sharnoubi, a spokesman for the Brotherhood.
Police also stopped a Brotherhood procession for candidate Simary Mansour in the town of Abu Kibeer, also in Sharqiya, and damaged 12 cars and seized seven others, the group’s website reported.
It also said police attempted to disperse a rally in the port city of Alexandria with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood is the top rival to the ruling party of President Hosni Mubarak heading into next Sunday’s vote. Many in Egypt fear they will see the same widespreadviolence that plagued the last parliamentary elections, in 2005, when police and government-backed vigilantes stopped people from casting ballots and clashed with rivals.
A security official said 117 people were arrested Saturday for demonstrating without a license in the Fayyoum, Sharqiya and Alexandria provinces, but would not give more details. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which is the best-organized opposition force in the country, said it has been pummeled by a wave of arrests, with more than 700 people detained since it announced last month that it would field candidates in the election.
El-Sharnoubi said that in the past 48 hours police have arrested 300 members and supporters of the movement.
“The regime has decided not to tolerate any [Brotherhood] election activity and including even the media campaign and simple peaceful processions,” he said.
In 2005 elections, the Brotherhood surprised thecountry by winning 88 seats in parliament, a fifth of the body and about 10 times more than any other opposition group.
But it has faced a major government crackdown and the organization has predicted it will lose many of those seats in the coming election because of government interference. Though the group is officially banned, candidates can compete as independents.
Unlike in previous elections, there will be no independent judicial supervision at the polling stations for next week’s contest. In 2007 the government amended the constitution so that polls will now be supervised by a government-appointed body.
Meanwhile in the southern Egyptian town of Qena, one man died and another was injured by gunfire when candidates from the ruling party appeared at a wedding prompting participants to shoot into the air in celebration.
Front Section, Pages 12 on 11/21/2010