Egypt: Government Continues To Bully MB Candidates

Throughout the country, government security police and undercover agents have began  a sweeping campaign of arrests and intimidations against MB candidates running for the upcoming Shura Council elections (Egypt’s Upper House) and their campaign aids. Government has resorted to a new tactic this time by acting at the source by denying MB candidates the access to the local election offices designated to receive applications from potential candidates.


On daily basis, MB members and activists are picked up by police around the country in a disparate attempt by the government to stop the MB from wining any seats out of the 20 the group announced it is contesting in.


Central Security Soldiers (name of the heavy armed government’s force) surrounded many of the local election offices blocking MB members from entry to present their election documents. In several incidents, the potential candidate was indeed arrested just to get it over with!


Arrests in Belkas, Dakahlya


On May 20, police arrested two activist Brothers, who also happened to be biological brothers,from Belkas, Dakahlya governorate, northern Cairo; where the MB announced it would field a candidate in that district in a clear attempt to undermine the MB capability to run the election campaign.


Menofya: MB candidates are turned away


In the birthplace of President Mubarak, which witnessed a major victory for the MB in the 2005 parliamentary elections, police and government agents prevented four MBs from presenting their documents to the local election officials and turned them away. The four are,


Hassan Saad El Sawaf, Khafage Yousef Khafage, Abdel Maksoud Imam, and Fekry Anter Ora.


In one incident, plainclothed police agents assaulted Abdel Mohsen Samra, an attorney for one of the potential candidates, tearing apart his clothes and election documents, which prompted his fellow lawyers to protest.


Alexandria: 4 court orders wont persuade Govt


Government officials in Alexandria still not ready to allow MB candidates to file for elections despite the four court rulings ordering the government to accept their applications, which met all legal requirements. In return, the government arrests Ashraf Agamy, supporter of MB candidates in 4th district during a peaceful demonstration against government oppressive practices.


Giza: MB candidate under siege


The Egyptian government innovations in forging elections have exceeded all expectations. One of the lucky MBs who succeeded to overcome the government’s obstacles to prevent him from applying to run for elections, apparently was not too lucky. The house of Mohamed El Said Saleh, an engineer from Giza Governorate who succeeded to get through and filed to run for the elections, was surrounded by police agents in three cars whose job was to prevent the “candidate” from campaigning! Mr. Saleh was told he wont be allowed to leave his Monsha’t el Kanater village under any circumstances, which angered the citizens in his constituency.