Egyptian police have arrested more than 40 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in the last two days.
The Brotherhood says the arrests are an attempt to disrupt its efforts to participate in the June 11 elections for the upper house of parliament. The group plans to field 20 candidates in the upcoming Shura Council election.
The Muslim Brotherhood wants to transform Egypt into an Islamic state through democratic reforms.
Although officially banned since 1954, the Brotherhood is Egypt's largest opposition party.
The group's members hold about 20 percent of the seats in the lower house of parliament, by running as independents.
Egypt is currently detaining more than 300 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, many of them are held without being charged.
