CAIRO - Egyptians today head to the polls nationwide to elect 508 MPs for the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Parliament) for the next five years as security has been tightened against possible violence. The Higher Election Commission (HEC) and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Saturday quashed rumours in some media that elections would be delayed in some constituencies, and urged Egyptians to “practise their constitutional right of electing their representatives”. "Appeals against court rulings to suspend the process in some constituencies were accepted. There will be no delay," the HEC said in a statement. The 11-strong commission also called on citizens to report any violations either directly to it or to the authorities concerned. "The elections will be held in all constituencies nationwide. Reports on delay in some constituencies are baseless," said Safwat el-Sherif, the Secretary General of the ruling party. Amedia committee concerned with monitoring campaigning, meanwhile, issued its second report Saturday citing violations committed by some TV channels, including the official television. "There were some minor violations. However, they did not affect campaigning," a report issued by the Media Monitoring Commission read as campaigning officially ended on Friday midnight. Security forces, meanwhile, were on high alert on the eve of the election after activists clashed with police prior to the end of the campaign marred by violence and a crackdown on the opposition. Violence is expected due to excessive enthusiasm and some illegal practices," a security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Gazette. He warned that the Interior Ministry would deal “very strictly” with any bid to incite violence. Thousands of activists demonstrated in support of their candidates throughout the Nile Delta and in the south of the country though campaigning for the vote officially came to an end. "Several of the rallies turned violent after supporters of rival candidates hurled stones at each other," they said. Activists for the banned Muslim Brotherhood opposition group clashed with police in the southern Beni Sueif governorate, and at least 15 protesters were arrested, sources inside the group said. Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud, a lawyer for the Islamist group, said 22 of its members were arrested on Friday across the country. The Brotherhood is expected to win far less than the fifth of parliamentary seats it captured in the last election in 2005, after at least 1,200 of its supporters were detained in the weeks before the vote. Most of them have been released, but the group says more of its supporters are rounded up each day as they put up posters and hand out fliers. Egypt's Chief Prosecutor is investigating complaints by the ruling party that more of the Islamists should be disqualified because they are misrepresenting themselves as independents. Under the Egyptian Constitution, no political parties are allowed on religious grounds. Several administrative courts have ordered the cancellation of elections in 25 of 254 districts after court orders to reinstate disqualified candidates, many of them Brotherhood members and other independents, were ignored. Rights groups say the election has already been compromised by the arrests of opposition members and campaign restrictions on their candidates. Voter turnout is expected to be low as usual in Egypt, where elections are often marred by violence and ballot fraud, according to rights groups. The Government insists the election will be fair, and the Higher Election Commission says it granted more than 6,000 permits to local civil society groups to monitor the vote and the ballot counting. The NDP, which has dominated Parliament for more than three decades, is expected to gain seats in Parliament at the expense of the Brotherhood. Amnesty International called on Egyptian authorities to safeguard the rights of voters in the election.
