Egyptian judges demand independence

More than 2,000 Egyptian judges have endorsed a call for complete independence when they are supervising the upcoming presidential election.

At a meeting in Cairo, the judges said they would refuse to act as election supervisors unless they get such a guarantee, the BBC reported. They also said that they want oversight of the entire election from the preparation of voter lists to the counting of votes.

Some speakers complained that during the last election they were restricted to polling places where all they could check was the actual casting of ballots. In the meantime, outside in the street police were refusing to allow supporters of the opposition to vote.

Al Jazeera, the Arab-language network, sent a television crew to cover the meeting, but police arrested the journalists.

© Copyright 2005 by United Press International