ASWAN: Gunshots were heard in Assiut’s El-Badary village in Upper Egypt as clashes erupted when a disqualified candidate allegedly blocked the roads leading to the polling station.
Abdallah Tammam, who was contesting an individual seat, was disqualified for not having performed the compulsory military service.
Rival candidate Amr Galal filed a complaint against Tammam accusing him of forcefully holding the supervising judge inside the polling station and blocking the road leading to it.
"Extensive gunshots were exchanged between the two families of Tammam and Galal in the absence of police and military forces," member of a popular committee Haitham El-Masry had told Daily News Egypt.
However, during a press conference by the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) which was aired live, SEC head Abdel Moez Ibrahim said that the military police had contained the clashes.
Clashes also erupted in Dayrout village in Assiut between El-Kourasheya and El-Kelaneya families who are both fielding a candidate each to contest the elections.
Both families exchanged gunfire as their fight over who should get the vote blocked the main road.
