Security apparatuses have committed extensive violations threatening the transparency of the current polls, according to a statement by the Independent Coalition for Monitoring Elections, which says police have assaulted candidates' representatives and media figures. The statement says the Al Jazeera news channel correspondent in Suez was arrested while covering a protest by a group of Muslim Brotherhood, Tagammu, and independent candidates in front of the province's security department. The correspondent has not yet been released, according to the statement. The coalition said security departments have been refusing to approve power of attorney documentation held by candidates' representatives, in effect denying Muslim Brotherhood and independent delegates entry to polling stations. They also reported that security officers attacked Mustafa al-Nashar, representative for Saad al-Husseiny, Muslim Brotherhood candidate for the professionals seat in Mahalla/Gharbiya. The son and nephew of Akram al-Shaaer, Muslim Brotherhood candidate for the professionals seat in Dawahi/Port Said, have both been detained, according to the coalition. Propaganda campaigns within polling stations by the ruling party continue, in defiance of the electoral regulations, the report adds, while the representatives of Sameh Fahmy, the Minister of Petroleum and NDP candidate for Heliopolis and Nasr City, was handing out LE200, T-shirts and breakfast meals to each voter in his constituency. In the same constituencies, security forces have detained four supporters of Manal Abul Hassan (Muslim Brotherhood candidate for the professional seat in Nasr City/Heliopolis). The statement also mentions that the Alexandria supporters of the Minister of Local Development, Abdel Salam el-Mahgoub (NDP, professional candidate in Raml) rallied in front of the polling station wearing badges supporting their candidate and distributing presents among voters. In the same province, Bushra al-Samny (Muslim Brotherhood candidate for the professional seat) was also prevented from entering her polling station, reported the coalition. Meanwhile, security forces in the Arish district in North Sinai prevented the representatives of Muslim Brotherhood, Wafd, and independent runners from accessing polling stations, according to the coalition's statement. And in Shariqya, security authorities refused to grant representation proxies to Hamdy Allam, a Muslim Brotherhood candidate for the professionals seat in Menya al-Qamh.
