Egypt is illustrating how not to do democracy (as opposed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebenanon):

DAMANHUR, Egypt Nov 20, 2005 — Widespread violence marred the second round of Egypt’s parliamentary vote Sunday as opposition supporters and police clashed with knives, metal chains and Molotov cocktails, officials said. At least one person was killed and scores were wounded.

The violence was in sharp contrast to the Nov. 9 first round of voting, which passed in relative peace and saw the banned opposition Muslim Brotherhood party double its representation in parliament.

What is important to understand is what is different in this second round to the first round. And unfortunately I have little to no faith that the media will give us or Egypt the entire or accurate story.

Police and Brotherhood supporters exchanged accusations over who started the melees, which also involved supporters of President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party.

Ibrahim Hammad, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, accused the Brotherhood of using thugs to intimidate voters and attack other candidates’ supporters.

But the Brotherhood candidate Mustafa Awadallah accused the government of hiring men to cause trouble outside polling stations to create a pretext for closing them early.

“This is unbelievable government terrorism,” he said. “This government is just incapable of practicing democracy. They never learn. They should simply leave office.”

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights also blamed the ruling party in a report Sunday, describing “an ascending violence and thuggery by the supporters of the NDP candidates against the supporters and representatives of contesting opposition and Brotherhood candidates.”

Infortunately, that is what the media wrought when it gave credence to Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan, Sen Durbin’s Nazi comparisons, Joe Wilson, John Kerry (whom the media was against before they supported him), Mad Murtha, Wailing Pelosi and Unstable Dean….

Wish I knew what the true source of the violence is. My guess is Al Qaeda and Islamic Jihad, since they fear democracy over everything else.