By Prensa Latina
Cairo : Municipal elections in Egypt were marked on Tuesday by great abstentionism and disturbances that led to suspension of the elections in one of the country’s northern cities.
Voter’s participation was poor today, due to concern about economic problems, some national media reported.
Absence of the first opposition force, the Muslim Brotherhood, which called to boycott on Monday, stroke another sour note in the process, affecting its development.
A marked indifference towards politics was the population majority’s feeling, according to interviews published by the media.
The elections were held amid general unease, due to food price rises, which have caused strikes and demonstrations all over the country for over two days.
A tense situation rules in Mahalla al-Kubra, a northern industrial city, where the elections were suspended after three days of clashes between demonstrators and the police that left three deaths, 200 people wounded, and 180 detainees.
An adolescent that was shot by the security forces was among the dead people, according to official sources.
The voting was cancelled and 15 of the 56 municipal council seats were assigned to opposition parties, some media said.
The electoral colleges opened for the electors to define 52,000 public representatives in elections where the government National Democratic Party is the most likely winner.
The candidates for the Muslim Brotherhood participated independently, because this group is banned, although it is tolerated by the authorities.
Besides the government party, representatives of the Arab Democratic Nasserist Party, Tagamu and the Wafd participated in the vote.