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| Egyptian presidential election TV debate – live blog | Egyptian presidential election TV debate – live blog |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 1.47pm ET/6.47pm BST: Khafaga explaining why there's only those two candidates are in tonight's debate. His reasoning is that they are the two who are ahead in all the pre-election polls. | |
| There were criticisms earlier today from the campaign of candidate Hamdein Sabahy regarding the debates, because there was a lot of speculation that certain candidates refused to appear with others, in this case candidate Ahmed Shafik had reservations about appearing with Sabahy. | |
| This might be because Sabahy was a staunch supporter of the revolution and Shafik was the Mubarak-appointed Prime Minister at the time. Would have been fun to watch that. | |
| 1.41pm ET/6.41pm BST: The presenters have appeared at the debate, reports Abdel-Rahman Hussein: | |
| We have Reem Maguid and Yousri Fouda from ONTV, Hafez Mirazi from Dream TV and Amr Khafaga, editor-in-chief of Al-Shurouk newspaper. Also in attendance is MP and member of the board of Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, Amr Al-Shobaki. Each one is currently giving a short introduction. The debate itself is about 40 minutes away. Mirazi says that the two candidates in today's debate are the frontrunners according to the polls. | |
| 1.09pm ET/6.09pm BST: Abdel-Rahman Hussein in Cairo will be sending in live updates from Egypt. | 1.09pm ET/6.09pm BST: Abdel-Rahman Hussein in Cairo will be sending in live updates from Egypt. |
| My friends are coming over to watch the presidential debate at my house.. we used to gather 2 watch Football games! How life has changed =) | My friends are coming over to watch the presidential debate at my house.. we used to gather 2 watch Football games! How life has changed =) |
| Voters are taking to Twitter to express their excitement for the debate. | Voters are taking to Twitter to express their excitement for the debate. |
| 1pm ET/6pm BST: Tonight is a key moment for Egypt and Egyptian television. It's the country's first-ever presidential election TV debate. | 1pm ET/6pm BST: Tonight is a key moment for Egypt and Egyptian television. It's the country's first-ever presidential election TV debate. |
| The protagonists are front-running candidates Amr Moussa (former foreign minister and former head of the Arab League) and Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh (formerly of the Muslim Brotherhood) and two high-profile TV figures, who will be posing the questions: chat show host Mona el-Shazly and former al-Jazeera journalist Yosri Fouda. | The protagonists are front-running candidates Amr Moussa (former foreign minister and former head of the Arab League) and Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh (formerly of the Muslim Brotherhood) and two high-profile TV figures, who will be posing the questions: chat show host Mona el-Shazly and former al-Jazeera journalist Yosri Fouda. |
| There are hopes that the debate will break new ground in Arab election coverage, with some challenging questions and serious discussion of the issues, rather than the old-style obsequiousness. | There are hopes that the debate will break new ground in Arab election coverage, with some challenging questions and serious discussion of the issues, rather than the old-style obsequiousness. |
| The format is that each candidate will be given two minutes to answer each question and will then be allowed to comment on each other's responses. Each candidate can also ask their opponent one question at the end of each half of the debate. | The format is that each candidate will be given two minutes to answer each question and will then be allowed to comment on each other's responses. Each candidate can also ask their opponent one question at the end of each half of the debate. |
| The first half will focus on questions about the constitution and presidential powers, while the second half will deal with the candidates' electoral platforms, the judiciary, security and other topics. | The first half will focus on questions about the constitution and presidential powers, while the second half will deal with the candidates' electoral platforms, the judiciary, security and other topics. |
| The debate is being broadcast by two privately-owned channels, ONTV and Dream, in cooperation with two privately-owned newspapers, Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Shorouk. | The debate is being broadcast by two privately-owned channels, ONTV and Dream, in cooperation with two privately-owned newspapers, Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Shorouk. |