- Title: EGYPT: Country extends polling by two hours after huge voter turnout
- Date: 29th November 2011
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (NOVEMBER 28, 2011) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING IN TAHRIR SQUARE ANTI- SCAF (SUPREME COUNCIL OF ARMED FORCES) BANNERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER, ABDULLAH MAHMOUD, SAYING: "One of the ex-members of National Democratic Party (NDP) was paying tens of pounds to the voters to vote for him and this was happening in the presence of police and the human rights observers, I told them about these illegal actions, but they did nothing. What I want to say is that we will never allow any ex-NDP member to represent us in the new parliament." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER, ABDEL NABY HUSSEIN, SAYING: "The government did nothing for nine months and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces did nothing either. I would say to the Field Marshal (Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of SCAF), come and speak to us, come to Tahrir Square to find out the facts. We are not leaving Tahrir Square, because people are still dying, and as long as martyrs are dying, we will not let their blood go to waste." STREET VENDOR SCENE FROM THE SQUARE VARIOUS OF WOMEN QUEUING IN LARGE NUMBERS AT POLLING STATION SECURITY AT GATES OF POLLING STATION WOMAN HELPING ELDERLY LADY INTO POLLING STATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOTER, NIRMEEN, SAYING: "Nobody would have ever imagined this turnout - I mean, we've been here from nine o'clock in the morning, it's four o'clock in the afternoon now, it's just incredible. Why? For Egypt!" WOMEN AT POLLING STATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOTER, NIRMEEN, SAYING: "We believe that we can make a difference. For the first time, we feel like we can really make difference." WOMAN DIPPING HER FINGER IN INK WOMAN WRITING ON VOTING REGISTER VARIOUS OF WOMEN CASTING HER BALLOT WOMAN DIPPING HER FINGER IN INK INTERIOR OF POLLING STATION VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF POLLING STATION VARIOUS OF THE NILE/CAIRO SKYLINE
- Embargoed: 14th December 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt, Egypt
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Politics,Population
- Reuters ID: LVAB2K3XAIJY4X6PPR2SUCXAEQKI
- Story Text: Egyptians voted in droves on Monday (November 28) in the first election since the fall of long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak, giving Islamists a chance to make political gains even as the army generals who replaced him cling to power.
Turnout in the country's first free poll in decades was high and, as the day wore on, Egypt's ruling military said voting would be extended two hours later than scheduled.
Voting for this first round of the three-phase lower house election will also take place on Tuesday (November 29).
Fears of unrest did not appear to have deterred voters. After a few hours of polling, the election commission chief said turnout was higher than expected but gave no details.
There were no reports of serious violence. Troops outnumbered police guarding polling stations.
Frustration erupted last week into violent protests that cost 42 lives, mostly around Cairo's Tahrir Square, centre of the popular uprising that forced the end of Mubarak's 30-year-rule in February.
Tents of protesters demanding an immediate end to army rule still stood in Tahrir Square on Monday, but after heavy overnight rain it was far from crowded.
One protester said he had witnessed an attempt at vote-buying by a member of the former regime, from the National Democratic Party, now standing under different colours.
"One of the ex-members of National Democratic Party (NDP) was paying tens of pounds to the voters to vote for him and this was happening in the presence of police and the human rights observers, I told them about theses illegal actions, but they did nothing. What I want to say is that we will never allow any ex-NDP member to represent us in the new parliament," Abdullah Mahmoud said.
Despite widespread voter enthusiasm, concern still lingered that the military was more focused on preserving its privilege and power than on nurturing democratic transformation, particularly in Tahrir Square.
"The government did nothing for nine months (since the resignation of Mubarak) and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces did nothing either. I would say to the Field Marshal (Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of SCAF), come and speak to us, come to Tahrir Square to find out the facts. We are not leaving Tahrir Square, because people are still dying, and as long as martyrs are dying, we will not let their blood go to waste," protester Abdel Naby Hussein said.
The segregated voting for men and women in Alexandria and many other places was a reminder of the conservative religious fabric of Egypt's mainly Muslim society, where Coptic Christians comprise 10 percent of a population of more than 80 million.
Nirmeen, in a queue of women waiting to cast their ballots, expressed surprise at the turnout.
"Nobody would have ever imagined this turnout; I mean, we've been here from nine o'clock in the morning, it's four o'clock in the afternoon now, it's just incredible. Why? For Egypt," she said.
"We believe that we can make a difference. For the first time, we feel like we can really make difference," she said.
Many analysts expect the Muslim Brotherhood's party and other Islamists to do well but much remains uncertain in Egypt's complex voting system of party lists and individuals.
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.
The world is closely watching the election, keen for stability in Egypt, which has a peace treaty with Israel, owns the Suez Canal linking Europe and Asia, and which in Mubarak's time was an ally in countering Islamist militants in the region. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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