Egypt's largest opposition grouping, the Muslim Brotherhood, accused the government Monday of harassing its members in an effort to manipulate the results of next week's parliamentary elections dpa reported
These elections have become fraudulent before they even began," Hussein Ibrahim, a Brotherhood candidate for parliament, told reporters ahead of Sunday's vote.
He and other members of the group, which hopes to spread a stricter version of Islam in Egypt, said hundreds of people were arrested in recent weeks and some were beaten by police.
Most of the people have subsequently been released, but dozens remain in detention, the group says.
The Brotherhood won nearly a fifth of the total in the People's Assembly in the 2005 elections, making them the largest opposition bloc in the lower house of parliament.
This year, they are running 130 candidates - all registered as independents since the Brotherhood is officially illegal - in the race for the Assembly's 508 seats.
The international umbrella group of the Muslim Brotherhood over the weekend urged its Egyptian members to withdraw from the race, predicting that the elections would be fraudulent and unconstitutional, but in Cairo candidates remained firm.
Despite calls for a boycott from some corners of the splintered Egyptian opposition movement, the Brotherhood insisted it would participate in Sunday's election.
We will continue in the elections process to the last breath," Ibrahim said.
Seated in front of a poster displaying photos of bleeding members of the group and its slogan "Islam is the Solution", Brotherhood speakers told a press conference of numerous difficulties the group appeared to be facing.
The allegations centred on efforts to limit the Islamists' ability to campaign, while President Hosny Mubarak's National Democratic Party was able to stage public events and rallies freely.
"The rigging of the elections is happening over several stages, starting with harassing and illegitimately banning nominees and ending with stealing ballot boxes and the announcement of fabricated results," said Saad el-Katatny, a member of parliament allied with the Islamic party.
In Alexandria and in the governorate of el-Gharbeya, security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up Brotherhood rallies last week. Dozens of the group's members and supporters were arrested and some candidates were allegedly being denied the right to run for office.
Speaking earlier this month, Mubarak offered assurances of free elections as criticism mounted against the ruling party.
More than 5,000 candidates are competing in the poll, which is seen as a litmus test of how next year's presidential election will unfold. It is largely expected that the ruling National Democratic Party will maintain its grip on parliament this year
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