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Egypt starts presidential election run-off | Egypt starts presidential election run-off |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Egyptians are voting in a two-day run-off election to choose their first freely elected president. | Egyptians are voting in a two-day run-off election to choose their first freely elected president. |
Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, is up against Ahmed Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister. | Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, is up against Ahmed Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister. |
The ruling generals have vowed to hand over power to the winner by 30 June. | The ruling generals have vowed to hand over power to the winner by 30 June. |
But correspondents say there is less enthusiasm than there was for previous rounds of voting, and some have called for a boycott or spoiled ballots. | But correspondents say there is less enthusiasm than there was for previous rounds of voting, and some have called for a boycott or spoiled ballots. |
Around Cairo, it is relatively quiet on the sun-baked streets. Two days of national holiday were declared in an effort to boost voter turnout. | |
Yet some Egyptians cannot be convinced to go to the polls. "I can't vote for Mohammed Mursi. His party failed every test in the past year. They were greedy and opportunist," rationalises Ahmed from Heliopolis. "If I voted for Ahmed Shafiq, I would betray my conscience." | |
In the poor Imbaba district, there are only small queues outside polling stations. The community appears split between the two candidates. "Dr Mursi is the sound of truth. I will not vote for any faloul (remnant of the old regime)," says Iman, who wears the full face veil. A Christian woman, Nevine, disagrees: "Ahmed Shafiq is the better one. He has political experience and will control Egypt well." | |
There were early queues outside some polling stations on Saturday, but later they were reduced in some places to just a steady trickle of voters, reports the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo. | |
Particularly noticeable is the lack of young people voting, our correspondent says. | |
They seem to be particularly disenchanted with the choice between Mr Shafiq, a candidate seen as a representative of the old regime, and the Islamist Mr Mursi, he adds. | |
While state TV has been urging people to vote, some activists have been distributing flyers in several Cairo metro stations calling for a boycott. | While state TV has been urging people to vote, some activists have been distributing flyers in several Cairo metro stations calling for a boycott. |
Mr Mursi's campaign held a news conference on Saturday afternoon in which it said several electoral violations had been reported, and urged voters to report any incidents. | |
Parliament dissolved | |
Meanwhile, the top official in parliament, Sami Mahran, has told the BBC he has received a letter from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) confirming for the first time that the lower house, the People's Assembly, had been dissolved. | |
It follows a ruling from the Supreme Constitutional Court on Thursday that the law governing Egypt's first democratic elections in more than six decades was unconstitutional because party members were allowed to contest seats in the lower house reserved for independents. | |
Mr Mursi's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won some of its 235 seats in the People's Assembly by running candidates for individual seats, as did the ultraconservative Salafist Nour party. | |
The Scaf's decision to dissolve parliament so swiftly means that whoever wins this weekend's presidential run-off could take office without the oversight of a sitting parliament and without a permanent constitution to define his powers or duties. | |
A 100-member assembly appointed by lower and upper houses of parliament earlier this week to draft the new constitution may also be dissolved. | |
Scaf officials have told state media that it now plans to issue a new interim constitution and potentially select a replacement constitutional panel itself. | |
The Nobel laureate and former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, warned that Egypt was suffering under worse conditions now than under Mr Mubarak, and that it was on the brink of allowing a "new emperor" to establish total domination. | |
"We are in a total mess, a confused process that - assuming good intentions - has led us nowhere except the place we were at 18 months ago, but under even more adverse conditions," he told the Guardian. | "We are in a total mess, a confused process that - assuming good intentions - has led us nowhere except the place we were at 18 months ago, but under even more adverse conditions," he told the Guardian. |
The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Cairo says the ruling generals insist they are moving Egypt towards civilian rule. | The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Cairo says the ruling generals insist they are moving Egypt towards civilian rule. |
And with some newly restored powers of arrest and interrogation for soldiers, they are warning any effort to disrupt the run-off vote will be dealt with firmly, our correspondent adds. | And with some newly restored powers of arrest and interrogation for soldiers, they are warning any effort to disrupt the run-off vote will be dealt with firmly, our correspondent adds. |
The Muslim Brotherhood has called on voters to "isolate" Mr Shafiq, whom it calls "the representative of the former regime", while Mr Shafiq has said he will restore stability to Egypt. | |
Mr Shafiq came second in last month's first round, in which turnout among the 52 million eligible voters was only 46%. Official results gave Mr Mursi 24.8% and Mr Shafiq 23.7%. | |
Voting at 13,000 polling stations, spread across Egypt's 27 governorates, is being held over Saturday and Sunday, from 08:00 (06:00 GMT) to 20:00 (18:00 GMT). Voting on Saturday has already been extended until 21:00. | |
Final results from the Higher Presidential Election Commission (HPEC) are due by 21 June, but are expected to arrive much earlier. Partial results from the first round were declared within 24 hours. | Final results from the Higher Presidential Election Commission (HPEC) are due by 21 June, but are expected to arrive much earlier. Partial results from the first round were declared within 24 hours. |
Are you in Egypt? Will you be voting? What are your thoughts on the electoral process? Send us your comments and stories using the form below. | Are you in Egypt? Will you be voting? What are your thoughts on the electoral process? Send us your comments and stories using the form below. |