Post-Mubarak, Egyptians vote freely for leader

Egyptians vote in first free presidential elections; no candidate expected to win majority, making run-off election likely.

By REUTERS
Poster of Egypt presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy 370 (photo credit: Nat Frank)
Poster of Egypt presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy 370
(photo credit: Nat Frank)
CAIRO - Egyptians relished their first free leadership vote on Wednesday, with Islamists pitted against secular figures in a contest unthinkable before a popular revolt swept President Hosni Mubarak from power 15 months ago.

With no reliable opinion polls, no one knows who will win the presidency, but Egyptians enjoyed the uncertainty after the routinely rigged votes of Mubarak's 30 years in power.
"We must prove that the times when we stayed at home and someone would choose for us are over," said Islam Mohamed, a 27-year-old swimming coach, waiting at a Cairo polling station. There were no early reports of vote-related violence and independent election monitors said they saw no major abuses.
The election is a momentous sequel to Mubarak's overthrow on February 11, 2011. The military council in charge of a messy and often bloody political transition since then has overseen a constitutional referendum, parliamentary polls and now a vote for a president to whom it has promised to hand power by July 1.
The revolutionaries of Tahrir Square may be reluctant to trust Egypt's future to Islamists or Mubarak-era politicians, but those candidates may appeal to many of the 50 million eligible voters who yearn for Islamic-tinged reform or who want a firm and experienced hand to restore stability and security.
Whoever wins faces a huge task to relieve a dire economic outlook and will also have to deal with a military establishment keen to preserve its privileges and political influence.
The relative powers of the president, government, parliament, judiciary and military have yet to be defined as a tussle over who should write a new constitution rumbles on.Many Egyptians were still undecided even as they went to the polls on the first of two days of voting.
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A historic choice
"I will vote today, no matter what, it is a historic thing to do, although I don't really know who I will vote for," said Mahmoud Morsy, 23. He then said he would probably plump for Mohamed Mursi, candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose voting machine has already ensured it the biggest bloc in parliament.
The nation of 82 million was in festive and relaxed mood, with many voters joking and chatting on a day to remember, although queues thinned later in scorching midday heat.
"Rise up Egypt," ran a giant headline in the popular daily Al Masry Al Youm, while state-run Al Gomhuria offered: "The president is in the ballot box, the key is with the people."Voters shuffled slowly towards the ballot booths in bright sunshine. Some had brought chairs and newspapers, anticipating long lines, but turnout did not seem as high as in a winter vote for parliament, Egypt's first free election in decades.
Egyptians also enjoyed seeing presidential hopefuls queuing alongside them to vote, in scenes a world away from past elections when state TV filmed a cosseted Mubarak casting his ballot among doting officials with no ordinary voter in sight.In one Cairo district, 75-year-old Amr Moussa, a former foreign minister and Arab League secretary-general, stood in line with everyone else. "I hope they will elect a president who can really lead Egypt at this time of crisis," he said.
Some voters clapped for independent Islamist contender Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, 60, when he too joined a queue in Cairo.
"For the first time the Egyptian people went out to choose their president after the end of an era of 'pharaohs,'" Abol Fotouh said, alluding to Mubarak and his autocratic predecessors who, like him, were drawn from the top ranks of the military.
Unless one candidate gets more than half the votes needed to win outright, the top two will face a run-off on June 16 and 17. Official first-round results will be only be announced on Tuesday, but the outcome could be clear by Saturday.Many Egyptians felt empowered and excited by the occasion."I've never voted for a president before in my life so the experience is quite new and makes me feel like a citizen of this country," said Ahmed Ali, a pharmacy student in Alexandria.Although official campaigning ended on Sunday, candidates pushed to get out the vote. In Cairo, half a dozen mini-buses plastered with "Yes to Amr Moussa" offered free rides to voters.One Alexandria mini-bus driver was not charging voters heading to the polls. "The rides today are on me," said Fathi Abdelaal. "Egyptians are finally in command of their destiny."