Egypt set for key elections marred by clashes

Egyptians are due to go to the polls in parliamentary elections, in a process which has already seen clashes between the opposition and security forces.



The ruling NDP party of President Hosni Mubarak is expected to win easily.



Interest is centred on whether the Muslim Brotherhood - officially banned - will retain its position as the country\'s biggest opposition party.



In 2005, its supporters won about a fifth of the seats, standing as independent candidates.



Polls around Egypt will open at 0600 GMT and will close at 1700 GMT.



Some 42m voters are eligible to cast their ballots, with results expected within several days.



Widespread criticism

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EGYPT ELECTIONS



Q&A: Egypt\'s elections

The new parliament will have 518 members, 508 of whom will be elected and 10 will be appointed by presidential decree.



Each of the 254 constituencies will return two MPs representing two sets of people: workers and farmers represent one group, and professionals the other. According to the constitution, the former must account for at least half of all MPs.



The winners are decided on a first-past-the-post basis. To win outright, a candidate must get more than 50% of the vote. Otherwise, the top two battle it out in a second round.



There has already been widespread criticism of the way the election has been conducted, the BBC\'s Jon Leyne in Cairo reports.



In a number of seats, the courts have called for the elections to be postponed, because opposition candidates were illegally struck off the ballot, our correspondent says.



But he adds that the government is expected simply to ignore that.



Some observers believe that the ruling party may win an embarrassingly large victory, further undermining the credibility of these elections.


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