CAIRO - Egyptian police on Thursday dispersed activists and opposition parliamentarians who were protesting against the alleged rigging of the mid-term Shura Council (Upper House of Parliament) elections outside the House in central Cairo. "Most activists were barred from joining the protest. The black-clad riot police blocked all the roads and subways leading to the Shura Council," an eyewitness told The Egyptian Gazette Online. He added that around 100 Members of Parliament from the banned Muslim Brotherhood and opposition parties held the protest outside the House's building, as the first session of the council was being held in which the new members took the oath of office. "Most journalists, photojournalists and activists were concerned when the police briefly detained Mohamed Abdel Quddos, a board member of the Egyptian Press Syndicate, and some other activists," another eyewitness said, adding that the protest lasted for two hours. The protestors rose banners reading ‘illegal' and shoutedslogans against the alleged vote fraud. The ruling National Democratic Party swept the June 1 mid-term elections. The Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile, emerged empty-handed. "These elections were a shame. This is a stigma on Egypt's political image," said Gamal Zahran, an independent MP in the People's Assembly. Zahran, who called for the protest, added that this was the first time in Egyptian history that Egyptian MPs had protested against a vote. On Wednesday, President Hosni Mubarak issued a presidential decree appointing 44 members of the Shura Council, among them eight Copts and 11 women. Egypt will hold elections for the People's Assembly (the Lower House of Parliament) in October this year and presidential elections next year.
