Egypt police detain 80 supporters of Islamic candidate

Police have detained more than 80 supporters of an Islamist candidate standing in Sunday's elections, the second round of Egypt's legislative polls.

The candidate, Abdel Hamed el-Senoussi, cried foul, claiming that the detainees, who include his brother Badri, should be working for him Sunday as election monitors and campaign staff.

A police official in Qena, southern &to=http://nglish.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/16028_Amenhotep.html' target=_blank>Egypt, confirmed more than 80 of el-Senoussi's supporters were detained Friday and Saturday, but he would not give a reason. The official spoke on customary condition of anonymity.

El-Senoussi is standing as an independent, but is widely regarded as the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned but tolerated organization that is not allowed to field its own list.

El-Senoussi says he is not a Brotherhood member and points out that he is not using the campaign slogan "Islam is the solution" favored by Brotherhood-backed candidates.