MENSHEYAT EL-QANATER, Giza: Shoura elections started with a bang, literally. A man was shot dead in a fight between supporters of rival candidates in Sharqia, State Information Service (SIS) announced yesterday morning. The attacker was identified as Mohamed Attia Moawen and "was detained by the police, said General Tarek Attia, representative of the Interior Ministry. While SIS's Chairman Ayman El-Qaffas assured the smooth running of the electoral process, Mahmoud Ezzat, Muslim Brotherhood (MB) secretary general, told The Daily Star Egypt, that there were many hurdles that stood against voters backing MB candidates. All types of obstacles were used - from disabling voters by force, to forging in the ballot boxes, he said. At Mensheyat El-Qanater in Giza, independent candidate and Muslim Brotherhood member, El-Seid Saleh, said that he had difficulty getting inside the ballot himself with his family in order to vote. The polling station was surrounded by anti-riot vehicles and security forces that completely blocked the rear entrance while restricting access via the front gate. "They allowed us to pass the gate because news crews were [filming], said one woman, "but inside the station they refused to let us vote, telling us that the elections were over. Youssef Marouef was similarly angry, "I am a Christian, so I naturally don't belong to the Brotherhood, but they still refused to let me vote. Marouef wanted to vote for an independent candidate not affiliated with the MB, Hosni Bedoui. "I felt that he may make a difference, he explained, "why hold elections if they won't let people vote? Another problem the electoral station faced was the use of different committee chiefs than those assigned by the judicial system. "I came in the morning to report to the station I am supposed to supervise, said Gamal Ismaeil showing The Daily Star Egypt the official document assigning him to this particular poll station. "But they threw me out saying that they already have their own supervisors. Other civil society observers had similar reservations. "We have been standing in front of the ballot stations since 8 am and the police forces refuse to let us in to observe the electoral process, said Sami Alaa El-Din, observer from Al-Naquib Institute for Supporting Democracy. The Daily Star Egypt was able to enter the ballot station of Manshiet El-Qanater where it was observed that some of the ballot boxes were made of the internationally-used glass while others were made of wood. Photo requests inside the station were denied. Some of the glass boxes were almost full of ballot papers, suggesting a considerable voter turnout. However, Alaa El-Din said that since early morning, very few voters came to participate in the elections. Hafez Abu Seda, secretary general of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, said the organization has received several complaints regarding accessibility of the ballot stations and that they have forwarded them to the High Elections Commission (HEC). On the other hand, Safwat El-Sherif, secretary-general of the National Democratic Party (NDP), confirmed in a televised press conference that the elections were being monitored by different civil society organizations and different judicial bodies. El-Sherif added that he has complete faith in the electoral process and the Egyptian voters. One voter who prefers to remain anonymous said, "I am an NDP supporter and they refused to let me in. . They are not just ruining the elections, but also the image of the NDP. The 35,000 ballot stations were assigned to 600 judges. On Sunday, the Supreme Administrative Court refused a request by the HEC to disqualify eight MB members from running in the Shoura elections. Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Kameliya N. Atanasova.
