EGYPT: First parliamentary poll since overthrow of Hosdni Mubarak attracts many first time voters

Record ID: 327646

  • Title: EGYPT: First parliamentary poll since overthrow of Hosdni Mubarak attracts many first time voters
  • Date: 29th November 2011
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (NOVEMBER 28, 2011) (REUTERS) LINE OUTSIDE POLLING STATION LONG LINES IN FRONT OF POLLING STATION PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE SOLDIERS ALLOWING PEOPLE INTO POLLING STATION LINE OF VOTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FIRST TIME VOTER, SHADI MOHAMED OMAR, SAYING: "This is the first time I vote in elections. This is the first time I can guarantee that there will be no fraud and vote rigging. I used to work at the electoral commission so I knew that my vote would not influence the results because those who nominated themselves and then went on to win a seat were well known. That's why I didn't participate back then." VOTERS WAITING IN LINE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FIRST TIME VOTER, FATHI ABDUL HAFIZ, SAYING: "I never voted before because I didn't have confidence in the process, but today I feel there is honesty so I have come to vote as it's a duty so I have come to fulfill that duty despite the fact that I'm very tired, but I came anyway. (Fathi beginning to cry) I came to give my voice and may God help those who will reform." FIRST TIME VOTER FATHI ABDUL HAFIZ SIGNING VOTER REGISTER POLL STATION WORKERS FILLING OUT DOCUMENTS ABDUL HAFIZ CASTING BALLOT SOLDIER HELPING OLD MAN INTO POLLING STATION SENIOR CITIZENS WAITING TO VOTE SENIOR CITIZEN BEING SHOWN VOTING FORMS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FIRST TIME VOTER, MUNIR TAHA, SAYING: "This is the first time I participate in elections, all my life I have not voted except here." WOMEN WAITING IN LINE TO VOTE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FIRST TIME VOTER, ATTIYAT ABDUL KARIM, SAYING: "I don't even consider what preceded this to be elections, in my opinion this is the first time I vote with the exception of voting for the constitution, but before this, there were no elections at all, in previous years we all knew who was going to win so no-one bothered to turn up, but today I stood for two hours to cast my vote, because I'm convinced that these elections are good and that Egypt will be better tomorrow than it is today." PREGNANT WOMAN IN POLLING STATION PREGNANT WOMAN SIGNING VOTING REGISTER PREGNANT WOMAN CASTING BALLOT BALLOT IN BALLOT BOX VOTERS WAITING IN LINE OUTSIDE
  • Embargoed: 14th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt, Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Politics,Population
  • Reuters ID: LVAETNEBGLS2D5260XP2Y0Z7P8AO
  • Story Text: Egyptians voted on Monday (November 28) in their first election since a popular revolt ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, as many standing in very long queues outside polling stations said it was the first time they had ever voted.
    Elections were held at some stages during Mubarak's 30-year rule but the results were always a foregone conclusion, Egyptians say.
    Shadi Mohamed Omar stood outside a polling centre at the Al-Baheya al-Bourhaniya school in Cairo's Sayyeda Zeinab district.
    "This is the first time I vote in elections. This is the first time I can guarantee that there will be no fraud and vote rigging. I used to work at the electoral commission so I knew that my vote would not influence the results because those who nominated themselves and then went on to win a seat were well known. That's why I didn't participate back then," he said.
    In the nine months since the end of Mubarak's 30-year rule, political change in Egypt has faltered, with the military accused of preserving its own power and privilege instead of fostering any democratic transformation. The military says it is committed to peaceful democratic change in the country.
    Frustration erupted last week into violent protests that cost 42 lives and forced the army council to promise civilian rule by July.
    In Cairo, Alexandria and other areas, voters stood patiently in long queues, many of them debating Egypt's political future that for the first time they believed they could shape.
    Fathi Abdul Hafiz, an elderly man, was another first time voter hoping to elect his favoured candidate for the first time.
    "I never voted before because I didn't have confidence in the process, but today I feel there is honesty so I have come to vote as it's a duty, so I have come to fulfill that duty despite the fact that I'm very tired, but I came anyway. I came to give my voice and may God help those who will reform," he said, struggling to contain his emotion.
    Soldiers guarding voting centres allowed the vulnerable to bypass the long queues and cast their vote without the long wait.
    "I don't even consider what preceded this to be elections, in my opinion this is the first time I vote with the exception of voting for the constitution, but before this, there were no elections at all, in previous years we all knew who was going to win so no-one bothered to turn up but today I stood for two hours to cast my vote because I'm convinced that these elections are good and that Egypt will be better tomorrow than it is today," Attiyat Abdul Karim said.
    About 17 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the first two-day phase of three rounds of polling for the lower house, which will be completed on Jan. 11.
    There were no reports of serious election-day violence. But scuffles among women voters erupted at one Alexandria polling station that opened late because ballot papers had not arrived.
    Islamists are expected to do well in the vote, but a host of parties have been formed since the removal of Mubarak, who routinely rigged elections to ensure that his now-dissolved National Democratic Party dominated parliament.
    The army council has promised civilian rule by July after the parliamentary vote and a presidential poll, now expected in June - much sooner than previously envisaged.
    Parliament's lower house will be Egypt's first nationally elected body since Mubarak's fall, and those credentials alone may enable it to dilute the military's monopoly of power.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register