Violence and opposition crackdown mark Egypt election

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2007

CAIRO (AFP) — A man died in a clash between rival supporters on Monday as Egyptians voted in an election for parliament's upper house amid a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood opposition and alleged irregularities.

The violence erupted shortly after the opening of the polls for the Shura council, killing Ahmed Abdel Salam Ghanem and wounding three other people, the interior ministry said.

Ghanem was caught in the crossfire as supporters of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) candidate and an independent rival clashed in the Nile Delta town of Husseiniya, ministry spokesman Tareq Attia told reporters.

The Muslim Brotherhood, defying a new constitutional ban on political activity based on religion, fielded 19 candidates as independents under their...