Egypt Mubarak Party Tightens Grip Ahead of 2011 Vote

Egypt’s ruling party is poised to sweep the Nov. 28 parliamentary election, tightening its grip on power as it prepares for a 2011 presidential vote that may see the first change of leadership in three decades.

Police have detained hundreds of supporters campaigning for the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s biggest opposition group, in the run-up to the election, in what the Islamist movement says is part of the ruling National Democratic Party’s efforts to drive it out of politics. The Brotherhood said Nov. 22 that police had detained more than 1,200 of its supporters.