Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

With the run up to polls in Egypt police officials and armed gangs have dispersed campaign events by Muslim Brotherhood candidates going as far as attacking candidates while in their cars.
Since their confirmation that they would participate in elections over 1300 members of the group have been arrested during the election campaign with some still in custody.

The measures have been so intense that a judge in an Alexandria administrative court ordered elections to be prevented in at least 10 out of the city’s 11 districts as a result of the Brotherhood, being disqualified by authorities. The decision however has been appealed by the ruling party and it is not clear if the government will implement it ahead of the November 28 contests.

Authorities have also engaged in clampdowns reining in the media, closing down several independent TV stations and forcing critics off the air on other independent channel suggesting that it wants to guarantee its powerful grip on authority ahead of the more crucial presidential elections scheduled for 2011.

It's a sign of nervousness at an uncertain time, when there are questions concerning  the aging 82-year-old Mubarak's health and at a time when the country has witnessed  a year of low-level but persistent street protests - not just over political reform but over issues that affect Egyptians' daily lives including high food prices, low wages and unemployment.