Scuffles reported during Egyptian vote

CAIRO, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Fighting broke out between rival Islamist parties in Egypt as observers recorded a low turnout for the country's runoff vote Monday for parliamentary seats.

Egypt last week had the first round of voting for parliamentary elections, the first such contest since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted during a popular uprising in February.

Military forces intervened at a polling station in a suburb of Cairo after supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party clashed with their rivals with al-Nour. Voters, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm said, were "directed" to vote for al-Nour.

FJP and al-Nour took the bulk of the votes during the first round of voting last week.

The vote went by with few reports of violence though demonstrators complained before the election that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was slow in handing authority over to civilian leaders.

The Egyptian report notes election observers were turned away from polling stations by military authorities because they were trying to film the voting process.

The Monday vote was for single candidates, not parliamentary contenders competing on the list-based system. The vote will determine the 52 winners of 104 candidates competing for seats on the lower house of Parliament. Elections are in stages, with presidential elections expected next year.