Voting Begins in Egypt

07/09/2005| IslamWeb

Egyptians are voting in the country's first ever contested presidential election, a ballot that the government has touted as a major democratic reform in the US ally, although long-time leader President Hosni Mubarak is almost certain to win.

Polls opened at 8am (0500 GMT) across the country. At one polling station - a school in Cairo's Manial district - banners had been hung on the gate by government supporters proclaiming "Yes to Mubarak for the sake of prosperity".

In the first half-hour of voting, only four young women showed up to vote - but there were no locks on the ballot boxes, so polling officials refused to allow any votes to be cast.

On the ground

Reporting from Cairo, Aljazeera correspondent Leena al-Ghadban said voter turnout on Wednesday morning was low, pointing out that some citizens had decided not to vote.

Some organisations tracking the elections issued initial reports stating that no voters or judges had shown up in at least two electoral committees in the new Egypt neighbourhood, the correspondent reported.  

In Mansura city, hometown of al-Ghad's Nour, a fierce race is expected as almost all the political parties in Egypt, including the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Wafd Party are represented.

Aljazeera reporter Amr al-Kahky, on hand at the Ibn Luqman school, the biggest polling centre in Mansura city with 3.2 million voters registered, described the turnout there as low.

But he said he expected more voters to show up later.

Complaints 

Aljazeera has learned that the national party hired buses to transfer citizens to polling centres to support Mubarak.

Some al-Ghad Party sources also told Aljazeera that the governorate was mobilising citizens in buses to vote for the incumbent.

However, the information had not been confirmed, the correspondent said. 

Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt for 24 years, is expected to easily win a fifth six-year term in the vote.

But his government says the decision to allow competitors to run against him signals a move towards greater democracy.

Two main rivals

Opponents, however, have dismissed claims of reform as a sham.

Nine candidates are running against the 77-year-old leader but only two are considered significant - Ayman Nour of the al-Ghad Party and Numan Gumaa of the Wafd Party.

But the country's judges - tasked with supervising the poll - have already warned that they will not endorse the result of the vote, amid suspicion the government will seek to swell an expected low turnout to boost Mubarak's legitimacy.

Mubarak, who has led the country for 24 years, is facing nine challengers, most of them unknown even to most Egyptians.

The country's 9865 polling stations are due to close at 10pm (1900 GMT) to allow Egypt's 32 million registered voters to take part in the poll.

Egyptian public television showed the first pictures of people casting their ballots.

Under pressure

Mubarak has urged all Egyptians to vote after coming under intense international and domestic pressure for political reform.

Polling will be supervised by thousands of judges as well as delegates from the candidates' parties but the electoral commission has independent monitors from polling stations, fuelling opposition fears the government has something to hide.

According to independent estimates, turnout reached barely 10% in the previous plebiscite won by Mubarak. The man dubbed "the last pharaoh" was re-elected in 1999 with 93.79% of the vote.

Previously, Egyptians have only been able to approve a single

candidate, but Mubarak introduced pluralist elections earlier this year under a constitutional amendment that was widely criticised by the opposition for not going far enough.

With the four-term rais (the boss) at little risk of being dragged into a second round showdown with one of his nine opponents, newspapers have been rife with speculation on the turnout figure.

Official results are not expected for several days, although a Mubarak win would likely be confirmed before then.

Virulent critic

After three weeks of campaigning, the fiery leader of the liberal Ghad Party - 40-year-old Nour - emerged as the most serious challenge to Mubarak and his most virulent critic.

Although he managed to raise his profile as the leading opposition candidate, many observers predict second spot could be clinched by Gumaa, who chairs the liberal Wafd Party.

Critics have charged that Gumaa is a token opposition candidate who was prodded into standing by Mubarak's ruling party to strip Nour of votes.

The seven other candidates are virtually unknown.

Regional impact

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Tuesday he expected the country's first pluralist presidential election to promote democratic change elsewhere in the region.

Observers noted that despite restrictions on the opposition and the survival of many features of Mubarak's autocratic government, the campaign was relatively fair and witnessed unprecedented freedom of tone in the media.

For the first time, emboldened editorialist and commentators took swipes at Mubarak himself, accusing him of corruption and demanding he step down.

The opposition movement Kifaya (Enough), whose protests have marked the run-up to the election, is to hold another anti-Mubarak demonstration on Wednesday at Cairo's main square.

Aljazeera learned that Kifaya would stage a rally at 12pm (0900 GMT) to reiterate its boycott of the elections and its refusal to vote for Mubarak.

The authorities have warned they would not tolerate protests - officially banned in Egypt - on election day.

The banned but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood - the country's largest opposition force - was barred from fielding candidates in the election and stopped stopped short of throwing their weight behind one of the 10 contenders.

PHOTO CAPTION

Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, leader of the ruling National Democratic party, hold his posters outside a polling station in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005. (AP)