Six polling stations temporarily shut in Luxor governorate following gunfight; troops contain situation and voting resumes amid heavy security presence.
A gunfight prompted the temporary closure of six polling stations in the Upper Egyptian town of Esna, located in the Luxor governorate, during the first day of parliamentary election runoffs on Monday.
Members of the El-Holail and El-Taraki families exchanged gunfire in El-Zonika village in Esna due to an unknown disagreement.
According to media reports, members of the El-Holail family ambushed a member of the El-Taraki family as he was travelling by taxi to vote.
Three people were reportedly injured and a larger gunfight broke out shortly afterwards.
Security forces eventually contained the situation and reopened the polling stations after deploying troops to protect them.
A judge at one of the polling stations, who spoke to Ahram Online on condition of anonymity, confirmed that six polling stations had been closed temporarily for at least thirty minutes.
Another gunfight, according to the judge, had taken place in the heart of Luxor as security forces chased the infamous outlaw Yasser El-Hamboli and his gang.
“No polling stations were closed in Luxor as a result of the gunfight but locals were dissuaded from going to vote,” the judge said.
A security source previously informed Ahram Online that El-Hamboli and his gang had more firearms and ammunition than the Ministry of Interior.
In Luxor’s runoffs, four candidates are competing for two parliamentary seats.
Abdel Mawgoud of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) is running against the Salafist Al-Nour Party’s Hatem Mokhtar for the professionals’ seat.
For the workers’ seat, the independent Radwan Abou-Karn is vying with Khaled Abdel Monem Megahed, of the Freedom Party, a National Democratic Party offshoot.