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| Egypt election - live updates | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 11.54am: Cairo-based journalist Ashraf Khalil says he has been losing sleep about the prospect of former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq winning the election. | |
| Speaking on the latest Arabist podcasts he said: "The prospect of Ahmed Shafiq presidency scares the hell out of me ... Sections of the country would go into convulsions if Shafiq won this." | |
| The nickname for Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohammed Morsi is the "spare tire", the podcast said, because he is a stand-in for the movement's preferred candidate. | |
| 11.49am: Egyptian voters who took part in protests in Tahrir against Hosni Mubarak's regime and who have contributed to our live coverage of the Arab Spring in Egypt share their views on the presidential elections in a new Guardian interactive. We asked them: To what extent is this Egyptian presidential election fulfilling the hopes and aspirations that emerged during the revolution? If you are voting in the election, share your responses in the comments. | |
| 11.23am: The Muslim Brotherhood's candidate is preparing to vote. | |
| Dr. Morsi waiting for his turn to cast his vote in Sharqeya "@moraselon: محمد #مرسى يلتزم بطابور الانتخاب fb.me/1YKMiHhS6" #EgyPresElex | |
| — Ikhwanweb (@Ikhwanweb) May 23, 2012 | |
| Meanwhile the former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq has been giving a press conference. | |
| At Shafik press conf "Security, Security, Security" "voters want strong president" Shafik calls on all to respect decision #EgyElex | |
| — Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) May 23, 2012 | |
| Many have claimed the press conference represented a clear breach of electoral rules which ordered campaigning to stop 48 hours before the polls opened. | |
| 11.08am: Regarding the killing of the policeman (see 11.01am), our reporter Abdel-Rahman Hussein says: "It happened last night, not this morning, and seemed to be a personal squabble according to witnesses I'm talking to here." | 11.08am: Regarding the killing of the policeman (see 11.01am), our reporter Abdel-Rahman Hussein says: "It happened last night, not this morning, and seemed to be a personal squabble according to witnesses I'm talking to here." |
| 11.01am: There are reports that a policeman has been shot and killed at a polling station in the district of Rod El-Farag in central Cairo. The polling station is situated right next to the local police station. The assailants and their motives are still unknown. | 11.01am: There are reports that a policeman has been shot and killed at a polling station in the district of Rod El-Farag in central Cairo. The polling station is situated right next to the local police station. The assailants and their motives are still unknown. |
| 10.56am: Al-Jazeera's Adam Makary tweets a step by step account of voting in Suez. | 10.56am: Al-Jazeera's Adam Makary tweets a step by step account of voting in Suez. |
| First, you show your national ID card to match your number with those registered to vote. Then, you sign #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… | First, you show your national ID card to match your number with those registered to vote. Then, you sign #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… |
| — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 | — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 |
| Second step, pick up your voting card. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… | Second step, pick up your voting card. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… |
| — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 | — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 |
| And you wait... with ballot and pen in hand. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… | And you wait... with ballot and pen in hand. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… |
| — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 | — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 |
| After you tick off the box selecting your preferred candidate, you drop your ballot into a sealed box. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… | After you tick off the box selecting your preferred candidate, you drop your ballot into a sealed box. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… |
| — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 | — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 |
| Finally, you collect your ID card, dip your finger in purple, permanent ink and off you go. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… | Finally, you collect your ID card, dip your finger in purple, permanent ink and off you go. #Suez #EgyElex twitter.com/adamakary/stat… |
| — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 | — آدم (@adamakary) May 23, 2012 |
| 10.44am: AP has been gauging opinion among voters in the port city of Alexandria. | 10.44am: AP has been gauging opinion among voters in the port city of Alexandria. |
| "It's a miracle," said Selwa Abdel-Malik, a 60-year-old Christian as she was about to vote. "And it's a beautiful feeling too." | "It's a miracle," said Selwa Abdel-Malik, a 60-year-old Christian as she was about to vote. "And it's a beautiful feeling too." |
| Reuters has this image from the city. | Reuters has this image from the city. |
| Photojournalist Matthew Cassel tweets this from Alexandria: | Photojournalist Matthew Cassel tweets this from Alexandria: |
| Haven't heard one person in Alex tell me they're voting for the Brotherhood or other "Islamist" (unless you count Aboul Fotouh). #Egypt | Haven't heard one person in Alex tell me they're voting for the Brotherhood or other "Islamist" (unless you count Aboul Fotouh). #Egypt |
| — matthew cassel (@justimage) May 23, 2012 | — matthew cassel (@justimage) May 23, 2012 |
| 10.43am: How are the mighty fallen ... Farouk Hosny, who spent 24 years as Mubarak's culture minister, joins the queue to vote. | 10.43am: How are the mighty fallen ... Farouk Hosny, who spent 24 years as Mubarak's culture minister, joins the queue to vote. |
| Mubarak-era culture minister Farook Hosni standing in line to vote in Dokki. (black suit) #Egypt twitter.com/SultanAlQassem… | Mubarak-era culture minister Farook Hosni standing in line to vote in Dokki. (black suit) #Egypt twitter.com/SultanAlQassem… |
| — Sultan Al Qassemi (@SultanAlQassemi) May 23, 2012 | — Sultan Al Qassemi (@SultanAlQassemi) May 23, 2012 |
| 10.34am: There is a smattering of support for the leftist Hamdeen Sabahy in eastern Cairo, says Abdel-Rahman Hussein. | 10.34am: There is a smattering of support for the leftist Hamdeen Sabahy in eastern Cairo, says Abdel-Rahman Hussein. |
| One Sabahy voter, Sameh Adly, told him: "This is something different, one never dreamed one could have the freedom to choose their president. Still it could have been better, the candidates aren't the best. Had ElBaradei still been in the race, he would have been a strong contender." | One Sabahy voter, Sameh Adly, told him: "This is something different, one never dreamed one could have the freedom to choose their president. Still it could have been better, the candidates aren't the best. Had ElBaradei still been in the race, he would have been a strong contender." |
| Activist @3arabawy tweets: | Activist @3arabawy tweets: |
| My extended family, almost all of them, are voting for Hamdeen. | My extended family, almost all of them, are voting for Hamdeen. |
| — Hossam عمو حسام (@3arabawy) May 23, 2012 | — Hossam عمو حسام (@3arabawy) May 23, 2012 |
| Journalist Jared Malsin tweets an image of a large Sabahy banner in Mohandessin, Cairo. | Journalist Jared Malsin tweets an image of a large Sabahy banner in Mohandessin, Cairo. |
| On the other side of the tracks (literally) in Mohandessin, Cairo. Lots of Morsi, Foutoh, and Sabahhi banners. twitter.com/jmalsin/status… | On the other side of the tracks (literally) in Mohandessin, Cairo. Lots of Morsi, Foutoh, and Sabahhi banners. twitter.com/jmalsin/status… |
| — Jared Malsin (@jmalsin) May 23, 2012 | — Jared Malsin (@jmalsin) May 23, 2012 |
| 10.28am: Presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh displays an inked finger after voting. | 10.28am: Presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh displays an inked finger after voting. |
| أبوالفتوح عقب الادلاء بصوته فى الانتخابات الرئاسية twitter.com/masry_LiveBlog… | أبوالفتوح عقب الادلاء بصوته فى الانتخابات الرئاسية twitter.com/masry_LiveBlog… |
| — AlmasryAlyoum_live (@masry_LiveBlog) May 23, 2012 | — AlmasryAlyoum_live (@masry_LiveBlog) May 23, 2012 |
| 10.21am: Queues appear shorter and more orderly than those in parliamentary elections, Abdel-Rahman Hussein, reports in an audio update from a polling station in eastern Cairo. | 10.21am: Queues appear shorter and more orderly than those in parliamentary elections, Abdel-Rahman Hussein, reports in an audio update from a polling station in eastern Cairo. |
| "People have learnt their lesson not to mass together early as soon as the polling opens," he says. | "People have learnt their lesson not to mass together early as soon as the polling opens," he says. |
| He reckons the outcome of the poll is impossible to call. | He reckons the outcome of the poll is impossible to call. |
| The race is really wide open. We can't rule out any surprises between maybe four or five candidates ... | The race is really wide open. We can't rule out any surprises between maybe four or five candidates ... |
| Candidates will be taking votes off each other. Abul Fotouh will be having his votes taken by Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. Amr Moussa will have his votes taken by Ahmed Shafiq. That might leave an opening for the dark horse of the race, the nationalist Hamdeen Sabahy. | Candidates will be taking votes off each other. Abul Fotouh will be having his votes taken by Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. Amr Moussa will have his votes taken by Ahmed Shafiq. That might leave an opening for the dark horse of the race, the nationalist Hamdeen Sabahy. |
| Abdo himself will not be voting, as he explains: | Abdo himself will not be voting, as he explains: |
| I understand this is a great moment and is something that many people aspired for and paid for their lives with. But I am personally boycotting because I feel the transition process has been a disaster, and that the military has appropriated the revolution for its own ends ... Whoever wins is not relevant to the military, because their enormous financial interests and secret empire will be maintained irrespective of the winner. | I understand this is a great moment and is something that many people aspired for and paid for their lives with. But I am personally boycotting because I feel the transition process has been a disaster, and that the military has appropriated the revolution for its own ends ... Whoever wins is not relevant to the military, because their enormous financial interests and secret empire will be maintained irrespective of the winner. |
| 9.48am: Abdel-Rahman Hussein emails this from a polling station in Cairo: | 9.48am: Abdel-Rahman Hussein emails this from a polling station in Cairo: |
| At the Tawfikeya Secondary School in the district of Shubra a long line of men wait patiently to enter the station to cast their vote. There are huge stacks of voting lists tacked on the wall where voters are looking for their name. Voters however are almost dwarfed by the number of security personnel present, a combination of army troops at the door, military police soldiers on the street and regular police officers. | At the Tawfikeya Secondary School in the district of Shubra a long line of men wait patiently to enter the station to cast their vote. There are huge stacks of voting lists tacked on the wall where voters are looking for their name. Voters however are almost dwarfed by the number of security personnel present, a combination of army troops at the door, military police soldiers on the street and regular police officers. |
| 9.46am: The Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohammed Morsi will cast his ballot in the wonderfully named Delta town of Zagazig. | 9.46am: The Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohammed Morsi will cast his ballot in the wonderfully named Delta town of Zagazig. |
| 9.44am: Predicting disaster is virtually mandatory for Egypt analysts, Marc Lynch says in an article for Foreign Policy. But it may not turn out so bad after all: | 9.44am: Predicting disaster is virtually mandatory for Egypt analysts, Marc Lynch says in an article for Foreign Policy. But it may not turn out so bad after all: |
| If one had fallen asleep in February 2011 and awoken over the weekend to see a country consumed with excitement by [today's] presidential election, things might look different. | If one had fallen asleep in February 2011 and awoken over the weekend to see a country consumed with excitement by [today's] presidential election, things might look different. |
| Egypt now has an elected parliament, which has underperfomed in some ways but does enjoy real electoral legitimacy. The presidential election is hotly contested by mostly non-disastrous leading candidates in which the outcome is very much unknown. | Egypt now has an elected parliament, which has underperfomed in some ways but does enjoy real electoral legitimacy. The presidential election is hotly contested by mostly non-disastrous leading candidates in which the outcome is very much unknown. |
| Politics, as predicted, has shifted mostly from the streets to the ballot box, and election fever has gripped the country. The military still seems intent on carving out its own empire within the state, but has consistently refused abundant opportunities to postpone the transfer of power to an elected government. | Politics, as predicted, has shifted mostly from the streets to the ballot box, and election fever has gripped the country. The military still seems intent on carving out its own empire within the state, but has consistently refused abundant opportunities to postpone the transfer of power to an elected government. |
| Islamists, after sweeping parliamentary elections, seem to be losing some ground with the public in part through their own political mistakes (such as fielding a presidential candidate after promising not to do so and poorly managing the Parliament they won). Former regime fullul were wiped out in those same elections, and remain on the defensive. Could it be that Egypt's disastrous transition might still end up pretty much okay? | Islamists, after sweeping parliamentary elections, seem to be losing some ground with the public in part through their own political mistakes (such as fielding a presidential candidate after promising not to do so and poorly managing the Parliament they won). Former regime fullul were wiped out in those same elections, and remain on the defensive. Could it be that Egypt's disastrous transition might still end up pretty much okay? |
| 9.34am: Google has chosen to mark the elections with a doodle. | 9.34am: Google has chosen to mark the elections with a doodle. |
| Google celebrates Egyptian Presidential elections with a doodle on the search engine's home page for Egypt twitter.com/GoogleArabia/s… | Google celebrates Egyptian Presidential elections with a doodle on the search engine's home page for Egypt twitter.com/GoogleArabia/s… |
| — GoogleArabia (@GoogleArabia) May 23, 2012 | — GoogleArabia (@GoogleArabia) May 23, 2012 |
| A nod perhaps to Wael Ghonim, the Google executive, who was imprisoned during last year's revolution. | A nod perhaps to Wael Ghonim, the Google executive, who was imprisoned during last year's revolution. |
| 9.27am: Journalist Magdi Abdelhadi sounds a cautionary note about Egypt's presidential election. In an article for Comment is free, he says it's a game of the least bad option: | 9.27am: Journalist Magdi Abdelhadi sounds a cautionary note about Egypt's presidential election. In an article for Comment is free, he says it's a game of the least bad option: |
| Egyptians, having staged the first popular revolution in their history, are being asked not to choose the future but to choose between various versions of an imagined glorious past. | Egyptians, having staged the first popular revolution in their history, are being asked not to choose the future but to choose between various versions of an imagined glorious past. |
| This is hardly surprising. Nasserism (or pan-Arab nationalism) and Islamism represent the two political discourses that have dominated Egypt – and the so-called Arab world – for the past half a century or so. And, contrary to popular perception, they have more in common than meets the eye. | This is hardly surprising. Nasserism (or pan-Arab nationalism) and Islamism represent the two political discourses that have dominated Egypt – and the so-called Arab world – for the past half a century or so. And, contrary to popular perception, they have more in common than meets the eye. |
| If you take out God, their ideological deep structure is remarkably similar. Both cultivate an inflated sense of collective grandeur, stolen past glory, and whatever went wrong with the nation, it's always someone else's fault: the crusaders, the moguls, the colonial masters, the Americans, Israel, the Shias, the Persians. | If you take out God, their ideological deep structure is remarkably similar. Both cultivate an inflated sense of collective grandeur, stolen past glory, and whatever went wrong with the nation, it's always someone else's fault: the crusaders, the moguls, the colonial masters, the Americans, Israel, the Shias, the Persians. |
| Alien notions such as individual freedom and human rights have recently made entry into their discourse. This is not so much the result of internal revisions but, thanks to the tireless work of the younger generation and local NGOs (some of which are, incidentally funded by the "infidel") and the ever-so-conspiring west. | Alien notions such as individual freedom and human rights have recently made entry into their discourse. This is not so much the result of internal revisions but, thanks to the tireless work of the younger generation and local NGOs (some of which are, incidentally funded by the "infidel") and the ever-so-conspiring west. |
| Such values have yet to translate into powerful grassroots movements or parties that can take on the pan-Arab-nationalist and Islamist dinosaurs. Find me a genuine liberal party in Egypt today and I will find you the proverbial needle in the haystack. | Such values have yet to translate into powerful grassroots movements or parties that can take on the pan-Arab-nationalist and Islamist dinosaurs. Find me a genuine liberal party in Egypt today and I will find you the proverbial needle in the haystack. |
| 9.20am: Amr Moussa has joined a queue to vote at a polling station in Cairo. | 9.20am: Amr Moussa has joined a queue to vote at a polling station in Cairo. |
| Amr Moussa standing in line to cast his vote in Fatma Anan prep. school polling station, New Cairo. #EgyPresElex twitter.com/hany2m/status/… | Amr Moussa standing in line to cast his vote in Fatma Anan prep. school polling station, New Cairo. #EgyPresElex twitter.com/hany2m/status/… |
| — Hany Rasmy (@hany2m) May 23, 2012 | — Hany Rasmy (@hany2m) May 23, 2012 |
| 9.15am: It looks as though ex-president Mubarak will not be voting, even though he has the right to do so. Unconvicted prisoners have to make a formal request, but it is unclear how they can actually vote if a request is granted, al-Masry al-Youm says, citing interior ministry sources. | 9.15am: It looks as though ex-president Mubarak will not be voting, even though he has the right to do so. Unconvicted prisoners have to make a formal request, but it is unclear how they can actually vote if a request is granted, al-Masry al-Youm says, citing interior ministry sources. |
| The sources added that former President Mubarak, who is detained in a medical centre, and 44 former regime officials, held in five different prisons, have all not applied to vote. The law allows detainees to vote as long as they have not been convicted. | The sources added that former President Mubarak, who is detained in a medical centre, and 44 former regime officials, held in five different prisons, have all not applied to vote. The law allows detainees to vote as long as they have not been convicted. |
| The sources said it is impossible for thousands of detainees to vote because voting requires polling stations, civil workers and judges to supervise the elections, particularly as prisoners number over 3,000 in different prisons in Cairo and 1,000 in Tora Prison. | The sources said it is impossible for thousands of detainees to vote because voting requires polling stations, civil workers and judges to supervise the elections, particularly as prisoners number over 3,000 in different prisons in Cairo and 1,000 in Tora Prison. |
| The sources said that the law gives detainees against whom no final judgment has been issued the right to vote by submitting a request to the prison administration, who will write a report about his or her legal situation and alert the Presidential Elections Commission. | The sources said that the law gives detainees against whom no final judgment has been issued the right to vote by submitting a request to the prison administration, who will write a report about his or her legal situation and alert the Presidential Elections Commission. |
| 9.10am: The Guardian's former Cairo correspondent Jack Shenker tweets this vignette showing hostility to a supporter of former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq: | 9.10am: The Guardian's former Cairo correspondent Jack Shenker tweets this vignette showing hostility to a supporter of former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq: |
| Man on metro starts booming about the greatness of Ahmed Shafiq as we pass through al-Shuhadaa' ('the martyrs') station (formerly 'Mubarak') | Man on metro starts booming about the greatness of Ahmed Shafiq as we pass through al-Shuhadaa' ('the martyrs') station (formerly 'Mubarak') |
| — Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) May 23, 2012 | — Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) May 23, 2012 |
| Full-ruckus ensues, everyone's shouting and finger-jabbing. Some pro-Sabahi elder women look ready to smack the Shafiq-lover in the face | Full-ruckus ensues, everyone's shouting and finger-jabbing. Some pro-Sabahi elder women look ready to smack the Shafiq-lover in the face |
| — Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) May 23, 2012 | — Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) May 23, 2012 |
| 9.05am: "It feels like a very big day," says Ian Black in an audio update from Cairo. | 9.05am: "It feels like a very big day," says Ian Black in an audio update from Cairo. |
| The preparations are being overseen fairly efficiently by the military. They are taking it [the elections] seriously, most people believe they don't want to hang on directly to power ... | The preparations are being overseen fairly efficiently by the military. They are taking it [the elections] seriously, most people believe they don't want to hang on directly to power ... |
| But there are big political and constitutional questions that need to be worked out, not least the powers of the new president ... | But there are big political and constitutional questions that need to be worked out, not least the powers of the new president ... |
| There is a lot of stake, but a great sense of excitement. There's a headline in one newspaper al-Akhbar which says "Your Vote equals the future of Egypt". A dramatic tone is being struck on what looks like being a dramatic and exciting. | There is a lot of stake, but a great sense of excitement. There's a headline in one newspaper al-Akhbar which says "Your Vote equals the future of Egypt". A dramatic tone is being struck on what looks like being a dramatic and exciting. |
| Most people believe the poll will be fair, but there are lingering suspicions about electoral fraud. | Most people believe the poll will be fair, but there are lingering suspicions about electoral fraud. |
| Ian says that Moussa and Abul Fotouh pass the Cairo taxi driver test as the candidates most likely to make it to a run off in June. But the race is still wide open, he says. And, whoever wins is going to have to get on with the army, which will remain a powerful player whatever its formal constitutional position. | Ian says that Moussa and Abul Fotouh pass the Cairo taxi driver test as the candidates most likely to make it to a run off in June. But the race is still wide open, he says. And, whoever wins is going to have to get on with the army, which will remain a powerful player whatever its formal constitutional position. |
| 8.30am: Three foreign NGOs have been authorised to monitor the elections, including the Carter Center. Its founder Jimmy Carter was spotted at a polling station by al-Jazeera's Evan Hill. | 8.30am: Three foreign NGOs have been authorised to monitor the elections, including the Carter Center. Its founder Jimmy Carter was spotted at a polling station by al-Jazeera's Evan Hill. |
| Jimmy Carter arrives at this girl's school in Sayyida Zeinab. twitter.com/evanchill/stat… | Jimmy Carter arrives at this girl's school in Sayyida Zeinab. twitter.com/evanchill/stat… |
| — Evan Hill (@evanchill) May 23, 2012 | — Evan Hill (@evanchill) May 23, 2012 |
| 8.24am: Abdel-Rahman Hussein clears up some confusion about the number of candidates standing in the elections. | 8.24am: Abdel-Rahman Hussein clears up some confusion about the number of candidates standing in the elections. |
| Although there are 13 names on the ballot, two candidates have pulled out in favour of other candidates. Their names remain on the lists because they pulled out after the 10 May deadline. | Although there are 13 names on the ballot, two candidates have pulled out in favour of other candidates. Their names remain on the lists because they pulled out after the 10 May deadline. |
| 8.19am:(All times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. Barring major developments elsewhere we will be focusing on Egypt's first ever free presidential elections today. "It is a genuinely historic moment," writes Ian Black in Cairo in a curtain-raiser to the poll. | 8.19am:(All times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. Barring major developments elsewhere we will be focusing on Egypt's first ever free presidential elections today. "It is a genuinely historic moment," writes Ian Black in Cairo in a curtain-raiser to the poll. |
| It will be the first time, ever, that the Arab world's most populous country has chosen its leader without knowing in advance who the winner would be. | It will be the first time, ever, that the Arab world's most populous country has chosen its leader without knowing in advance who the winner would be. |
| We should be getting updates from Ian and Abdel-Rahman Hussein throughout the day. | We should be getting updates from Ian and Abdel-Rahman Hussein throughout the day. |
| Polling stations opened more than an hour ago and they will close at 8pm tonight, with further voting tomorrow. None of the candidates is expected to win the first round outright. A second round is planned for mid-June. | Polling stations opened more than an hour ago and they will close at 8pm tonight, with further voting tomorrow. None of the candidates is expected to win the first round outright. A second round is planned for mid-June. |
| There are five candidates that matter: | There are five candidates that matter: |
| • Amr Moussa | • Amr Moussa |
| The former foreign minister is still the frontrunner and chief "stability" candidate, is widely supported as a safe pair of hands. After decades of international diplomacy on behalf of Egypt and the Arab League he looks effortlessly presidential in dark suit and tie, surrounded by solicitous aides and guards. But, at 75, Moussa looks tired: he would be nearly 80 by the end of the one four-year term he has said he would serve. Critics say he is too centrist or too grey. | The former foreign minister is still the frontrunner and chief "stability" candidate, is widely supported as a safe pair of hands. After decades of international diplomacy on behalf of Egypt and the Arab League he looks effortlessly presidential in dark suit and tie, surrounded by solicitous aides and guards. But, at 75, Moussa looks tired: he would be nearly 80 by the end of the one four-year term he has said he would serve. Critics say he is too centrist or too grey. |
| • Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh | • Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh |
| An independent Islamist who broke away from the Muslim Brotherhood to run on his own. During his campaign he made much of an incident when as a student leader in the mid 1970s he publicly challenged President Anwar Sadat. His supporters range from liberals suspicious of any "regime remnants" to Salafists whose own candidate was disqualified. "He has become the Rorschach test of Egyptian politics," wrote Shadi Hamid in Foreign Policy. "Liberals think he's more liberal than he actually is. Conservatives hope he's more conservative." | An independent Islamist who broke away from the Muslim Brotherhood to run on his own. During his campaign he made much of an incident when as a student leader in the mid 1970s he publicly challenged President Anwar Sadat. His supporters range from liberals suspicious of any "regime remnants" to Salafists whose own candidate was disqualified. "He has become the Rorschach test of Egyptian politics," wrote Shadi Hamid in Foreign Policy. "Liberals think he's more liberal than he actually is. Conservatives hope he's more conservative." |
| • Mohammed Morsi | • Mohammed Morsi |
| The Muslim Brotherhood's official candidate has run an uninspiring campaign and is considered a poor stand-in for the charismatic but disqualified Khairat al-Shater, a wealthy businessman and senior Brother. The Brothers' hope is that ideology and discipline will win out over personality. Some opinion polls suggested a bump in support for Morsi following his emphasis on Islamic principles during his campaign. | The Muslim Brotherhood's official candidate has run an uninspiring campaign and is considered a poor stand-in for the charismatic but disqualified Khairat al-Shater, a wealthy businessman and senior Brother. The Brothers' hope is that ideology and discipline will win out over personality. Some opinion polls suggested a bump in support for Morsi following his emphasis on Islamic principles during his campaign. |
| • Ahmed Shafiq | • Ahmed Shafiq |
| Like Mubarak an ex-air force commander and an unapologetic opponent of the revolution who is openly anti-Islamist and scorned by opponents as a fuloul – a "remnant" of the old regime. Initially seen as an outsider, he has led in two recent polls and came a close second to Moussa in a third. Victory for him – unlikely but not impossible – could trigger serious unrest. | Like Mubarak an ex-air force commander and an unapologetic opponent of the revolution who is openly anti-Islamist and scorned by opponents as a fuloul – a "remnant" of the old regime. Initially seen as an outsider, he has led in two recent polls and came a close second to Moussa in a third. Victory for him – unlikely but not impossible – could trigger serious unrest. |
| • Hamdeen Sabahy | • Hamdeen Sabahy |
| Perceived as the alternative choice for those wishing to avoid voting for a candidate with an Islamist ideology but not affiliated with the Mubarak regime. His campaign has been poorly funded but he is a populist figure and came third among expat voters. He has support from Egyptian artists – worried about an impending Islamist crackdown on the arts – and Nasser-era Arab nationalists and leftists. Sabahy has tried position himself as the happy medium, taking the good facets of Nasser while leaving the bad – the cult of personality, the one-party system and centralisation of power. His copybook was blotted by his Arab nationalist tendencies, which saw him offer solidarity to notorious dictators such as Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gadafi, though his defenders say that he supported the people of Iraq and Libya against modern-day western imperialism. But his revolutionary credentials are beyond reproach. He broke through a police cordon on 25 January with supporters following suit and has a history of detention going back to the 1970s. | Perceived as the alternative choice for those wishing to avoid voting for a candidate with an Islamist ideology but not affiliated with the Mubarak regime. His campaign has been poorly funded but he is a populist figure and came third among expat voters. He has support from Egyptian artists – worried about an impending Islamist crackdown on the arts – and Nasser-era Arab nationalists and leftists. Sabahy has tried position himself as the happy medium, taking the good facets of Nasser while leaving the bad – the cult of personality, the one-party system and centralisation of power. His copybook was blotted by his Arab nationalist tendencies, which saw him offer solidarity to notorious dictators such as Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gadafi, though his defenders say that he supported the people of Iraq and Libya against modern-day western imperialism. But his revolutionary credentials are beyond reproach. He broke through a police cordon on 25 January with supporters following suit and has a history of detention going back to the 1970s. |