Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members have demonstrated across northern Egypt, accusing the government of preventing them from participating in upcoming local elections.

Nine Brotherhood members were arrested on Tuesday, four in the town of Tanta, were supporters clashed with police, and five more in Qalyubiya province.

The arrests have drawn criticism from several international human rights organisations.

Nearly 3,000 members of the organisation protested in Zagazig, 100km northeast of Cairo, 2,000 demonstrated in the port city of Alexandria and 1,500 marched at Damanhur in the Nile Delta.

Around 700 demonstrators took to the streets in Tanta.

The government postponed 2006 local elections for two years, after the Brotherhood unexpectedly won 88 seats in the 454-member parliament in 2005 elections.

Prevented from registering

Since registration started on March 4, thousands of the Muslim Brotherhood's candidates have been prevented from registering for the local council elections, set for April 8.

Later the group won law suits reversing these decisions, but the government has refused to implement the verdicts.

The Brotherhood, the most powerful opposition group in Egypt, has been banned in Egypt since 1954 but its members have won parliamentary seats by running as independents in elections.

Subsequently, the Egyptian authorities have launched a major crackdown on the Brotherhood, putting more than 800 of the group's members and potential candidates in jail.

PHOTO CAPTION 

Supporters of Muslim brotherhood demonstrate in Alexandria City, 230 km (143 miles) north of Cairo, April 1, 2008.

Al-Jazeera