Election Clashes in Egypt Leave 4 Dead, 60 Hurt

Police fired live ammunition and tear gas Saturday in clashes with voters in three northern villages and, elsewhere, fistfights between supporters of rival candidates in Egypt’s parliamentary elections escalated into gunfire. By nightfall, four people were dead and more than 60 injured.

In Dakahla, 125 miles northeast of Cairo, the capital, police tried to disperse voters angry that security forces had prevented them from casting ballots.

One man, Hani Noaman al-Sabbouhi, 18, died after being shot three times in the head, according to hospital officials in nearby Mansura. At least 24 other people were treated there for gunshot wounds or tear gas inhalation.

Residents in some areas have complained throughout the three-stage elections that security forces are limiting who votes.

Clashes with police are common in Egyptian legislative elections, which are marred by allegations of vote-rigging. In earlier polling during the current elections, police fired on a crowd of pro-opposition voters, killing one and wounding a dozen. Thirty-four people were killed in the 1995 elections.

President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party controlled 97% of the seats in the outgoing parliament and is expected to dominate the new one. Voting Saturday was for runoff contests in the second stage of balloting and covered parts of the Nile Delta, Sinai Peninsula and southern Egypt.

In Idyar, 50 miles north of Cairo, police clashed with supporters of the ruling NDP candidate--a far less common occurrence. Two people hospitalized in the clash died, hospital officials said.