Egypt’s opposition to run in elections

Egypt’s opposition to run in elections


 An Islamic fundamentalist group accused Egypt “s government on Thursday of trying to prevent the opposition movement from running in key April local elections by arresting its potential candidates.



Egypt”s powerful Muslim Brotherhood vowed, however, to stand defiant against the crackdown and field candidates in the April 8 vote.



 
“They think they will prevent us from exercising our right in defending the nation,” Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef told reporters at the group”s headquarters in Cairo .



 
Police rounded up 100 senior Brotherhood figures and potential candidates on Wednesday, storming the homes of members in Cairo and five other provinces at dawn. Police said they were suspected of joining a banned group and trying to revive its activities.



 
The Brotherhood is Egypt “s largest opposition movement, though it has been officially banned since 1954. Its candidates run in elections as independents, usually making their link to the group clear in campaigning