A judge supervising the voting count in Kafr El Sheikh, north of Cairo, is under attack following his announcement that there will be a run-off between the constituency's two leading candidates. Thugs gathered around the building where the counting is taking place and have been hurling stones since noon today, Monday.

The candidates in question are Hamdeen Sabahi, journalist and founder of the El Karama Party who is running as an independent, and Essam Abdel Ghaffar an NDP candidate. The two candidates were vying for the professional seat in El Hamol and Brollous constituencies of Kafr El Sheikh.

An Ahram Online source said that thugs surrounded the El Hamol Center, where the voting took place, late this morning. "They have trapped the judge inside and are shouting threats and throwing stones,” the source said.

The judge overseeing the votes had said earlier that 64 ballot boxes have been disqualified as he “believed they were rigged”. A run-off between the two was subsequently announced.

Yesterday, Sabahi, the constituency's current MP who is running for re-election, announced that he will withdraw from the elections due to the high level of rigging. He has not yet announced if he will contend in the run-off.