Egyptians Vote in Landmark Presidential Election

Egyptians are heading to the polls in their first free presidential election, 15 months after ousting Hosni Mubarak in the Arab Spring uprising. Fifty million people are eligible to vote, and queues are forming at some polling stations. The military council which assumed presidential power in February 2011 has promised a fair vote and civilian rule.

The election pits Islamists against secularists, and revolutionaries against Mubarak-era ministers.

The frontrunners are:

Ahmed Shafiq, a former commander of the air force and briefly prime minister during February 2011 protests

Amr Moussa, who has served as foreign minister and head of the Arab League

Mohammed Mursi, who heads Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an independent Islamist candidate

Until a new constitution is approved it is unclear what powers the president will have, prompting fears of friction with the military. Mr Mursi was originally the party's reserve candidate, but he was thrust into the limelight after its first choice, Khairat al-Shater, was disqualified by the Higher Presidential Electoral Commission (HPEC) over an unresolved conviction. The Brotherhood have nevertheless likened Mr Mursi, a US-educated engineer and MP, to an underrated football substitute.
"In any match there is the reserve who plays in the last 10 minutes, scores the goal and wins the match. Mursi is our reserve player," said cleric Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud while addressing a crowd of Brotherhood supporters on Sunday.

A run-off vote is scheduled for 16 and 17 June if there is no outright winner. There is also a potential clash waiting to happen with the military, which seems determined to retain its position as the power behind the president's chair. And the electorate does not know what powers the new president will have to do his job, as they are still waiting for them to be spelled out in a new constitution, our correspondent adds.

The election is being hailed as a landmark for Egyptians, who have the opportunity to choose their leader for the first time in the country's 5,000-year recorded history. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), worried about potential post-election unrest, has sought to reassure Egyptians that it will be the voters themselves to decide the next president.
"It is important that we all accept the election results, which will reflect the free choice of the Egyptian people, bearing in mind that Egypt's democratic process is taking its first step and we all must contribute to its success," it said in a statement on Monday. The 15 months since Mr Mubarak was forced from power has been turbulent, with continued violent protests and a deteriorating economy.

Egypt - and its next president - face huge challenges. He'll have to find a way to make people feel safe again. Egypt needs a reformed police service to deal with the rash of crime that followed the collapse of the old regime's brutal and corrupt force. The economy cannot satisfy the needs of a growing and young population. And there is the problem with the interim military government. The army wants to remain in a position of power and perhaps manipulate a puppet president. Also, the four men generally regarded as the front-runners are all either Islamists or former ministers who served in the old regime.