DAMANHUR, Egypt, 21 November 2005 — Widespread violence marred the second round of Egypt’s parliamentary vote yesterday as clashes broke out nationwide between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and police. At least one person was killed in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and police used tear gas to break up rioting in the Nile delta.

Scores of voters and campaign workers were reported injured by attackers using knives, metal chains and Molotov cocktails in clashes across the nine provinces where 1,706 candidates were vying in 72 constituencies. Some injuries were reported to be serious.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. as scheduled, but voters were still standing in line in many districts when authorities shut the doors.

In Damanhur, a Nile delta town 140 kilometers north of Cairo, 2,000 voters were blocked from casting ballots as police cordoned off polling stations before closing time, said Mohammed Hehmat, a Muslim Brotherhood supporter and nephew of one of its candidates.

Throughout the day, police and Brotherhood supporters exchanged accusations over who started the melees, which also included backers of President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party.

The NDP held an 80 percent majority heading into the three-stage vote, which concludes Dec. 1. But the Brotherhood did unexpectedly well in the first round last week, apparently leading to increased tension during this round.

In Fayoum, a region south of Cairo for example, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mustafa Awadallah accused the government of hiring provocateurs to cause trouble outside polling stations to create a pretext for closing them early.

“This is unbelievable government terrorism,” Awadallah said. “This government is just incapable of practicing democracy. They never learn. They should simply leave office.”

But Ibrahim Hammad, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, accused the Brotherhood of starting trouble, hiring street toughs to intimidate voters and attack supporters of other candidates.

“I say with all sorrow that most of the (thugs) are used by candidates of the religious current (the Brotherhood),” Hammad said.

Gamal Hishmat, a Brotherhood candidate in Damanhur where rioting was widespread, said the ruling party and police were responsible.

“We are facing a corrupt oppressive government and an unarmed people confronting it with stones. We are witnessing an uprising in Damanhur,” he said.