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Egypt Elects New Parliament

   VOA News 28 November 2010
   An  Egyptian  woman casts her vote at a polling station in Alexandria,
   10 Nov 2010

Photo: AP

   An  Egyptian  woman casts her vote at a polling station in Alexandria,
   10 Nov 2010

   Egyptians  are  voting Sunday to elect a new parliament, as complaints
   of  election  violations  and  harassment  from  opposition and rights
   groups are mounting.
   The  Muslim  Brotherhood  opposition  group  said  Saturday  12 of its
   supporters  were  sentenced to two years in prison for using religious
   slogans in campaigning, in the latest in a series of crackdowns on the
   banne group that runs its candidates as independents. Â
   Egyptian  law  prohibits  religious  parties  but  candidates who were
   backed  by  the  Muslim Brotherhood now control one-fifth of the lower
   house of parliament. The opposition group is backing 130 candidates in
   Sunday's polling.
   The government, which insists the elections will be free and fair, has
   deployed  thousands  of  police across Egypt ahead of the vote and has
   barred international observers as an infringement on its sovereignty.
   Egypt's   official   MENA  news  agency  says  as  many  as  76  civil
   organizations  will  be  observing  the  elections. Rights groups have
   criticized Egypt for its rejection of international election monitors.
   However,  MENA  said  Saturday  that  the voting at more than 200 main
   polling   stations   and   thousands  nationwide  will  be  under  the
   supervision  of  almost  2,300  judges.  The  news  agency  also  said
   267-thousand civil servants will monitor the process.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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References

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