- Title: EGYPT: Country prepares for historic vote
- Date: 22nd May 2012
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (MAY 20, 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) SUPPORTERS OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, MOHAMED MURSI , AT RALLY IN CAIRO MURSI WAVING TO CROWD AS SUPPORTERS CHEER AND JUMP IN UNISON MURSI WAVING TO CROWD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SUPPORTERS OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE [MOHAMED MURSI ABDEL WAHID ABDUL MAGUID, SAYING: "I think that it will turn out well, God willing, and the people will support him [Morsy], and you'll see this outcome right away. All of the signs point in that direction. And God willing he will get over 50 percent of the vote in the first round." VARIOUS OF MURSI ON STAGE AS PYROTECHNICS ARE IGNITED SUPPORTERS OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, KHALED ALI, MARCHING IN DOWNTOWN CAIRO ALI STANDING ON STAGE TO ADDRESS SUPPORTERS WIDE OF ALI'S SUPPORTERS ALI LEADING CROWD IN CHANT OF 'BREAD, FREEDOM, SOCIAL JUSTICE!' CLOSE ON TEARY-EYED ALI SUPPORTER IN CROWD SUPPORTERS OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HAMDEEN SABAHY IN TALAAT HARB SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN CAIRO SABAHY SUPPORTER HOLDING PLACARD WITH HIS PICTURE ON IT s (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SUPPORTER OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, HAMDEEN SABAHY, SAYING: "We hope that Hamdeen Sabahy wins the presidency. And personally I made this choice because Hamdeen Sabahy believes in freedom, and has an ideological inclination towards social justice as a result of his political history and his history in opposition which makes him partial to the poor." VARIOUS OF SABAHY SUPPORTERS WAVING PLACARDS AT PASSING CARS JUICE SELLERS NEAR PROTEST CLOSE ON FLOWER DECORATION AND EGYPTIAN FLAG ON JUICE CONTAINER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JUICE SELLER, HOSNI YOUSEF AL-SAIDI, SAYING: "Personally, I am someone who has studied, and I have a degree in trade. So I would like real employment but instead I sell licorice juice. So God willing, knowing that Hamdeen [Sabahy] is a good person, the most important thing is that he find employment for the young people and lower prices." YOUSEF POURING JUICE FOR CUSTOMER
- Embargoed: 6th June 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt
- City:
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAD2XG77X13AHN7JS2N4NDEU8X8
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- Story Text: Fifteen months after a popular uprising ended the nearly 30-year rule of longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians are preparing to elect Mubarak's successor in the country's first truly competitive presidential elections.
Egyptians will go to the polls on Wednesday (May 23) and Thursday (May 24) in the first round of elections that pit liberal candidates against Islamists, in a landmark race that will determine the country's future orientation.
The elections come after a turbulent period of transition overseen by the ruling military council, which has seen the security forces kill large numbers of protesters, a spike in sectarian tensions and a deepening of Egypt's economic woes.
With so much on the line, the burden of expectation on the frontrunners is enormous, with all of the candidates promising to return security and lead the country towards prosperity and real democracy.
With Islamist political parties firmly in control of Parliament after elections in the fall and winter, some in Egypt fear that an Islamist victor in the presidential race could lead to domination of the country's nascent political system by one group.
While the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's best organized political force, has been forced on the defensive after going back on a pledge not to field a presidential candidate, their supporters now hope that Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi can defy low poll numbers and defeat his rivals.
"I think that it will turn out well, God willing, and the people will support him [Mursi ], and you'll see this outcome right away. All of the signs point in that direction. And God willing he will get over 50 percent of the vote in the first round," said Abdul Wahid Badel Maguid, at a rally of Mursi 's supporters.
The prominent role played by Islamist parties in Egypt's political transition has left many of the youth activist groups and liberal parties that spearheaded the anti-Mubarak uprising resentful of being left on the sidelines.
Many of them have expressed dissatisfaction with the frontrunners, who include Mursi , ex-Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abol Futouh, former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, and Mubarak's last Prime Minister, Ahmed Shafik.
Underdogs like labor lawyer Khaled Ali have attracted the support of disillusioned voters with promises to stay true to the ideals of the revolution and its promise of root and branch reform.
Nasserist candidate Hamdeen Sabahy has also gained momentum of late, and his supporters took to the streets on Sunday to try and win over their countrymen who are still on the fence.
"We hope that Hamdeen Sabahy wins the presidency. And personally I made this choice because Hamdeen Sabahy believes in freedom, and has an ideological inclination towards social justice as a result of his political history and his history in opposition which makes him partial to the poor," said one of his supporters.
Egypt's endemic poverty is one of the main issues for voters, with many feeling that corruption during the Mubarak era drove the country into the ground economically.
One man selling traditional 'araksis' a licorice juice beverage, said that he wanted a president like Hamdeen Sabahy, who would create opportunities for those who had been left behind.
"Personally, I am someone who has studied, and I have a degree in trade. So I would like real employment but instead I sell licorice juice. So God willing, knowing that Hamdeen [Sabahy] is a good person, the most important thing is that he find employment for the young people and lower prices," said Hosni Yousef.
While Islamist parties dominated parliamentary elections, liberal candidates like Moussa have profited from the perception that the Islamists have failed to make any headway in solving the country's problems during the last six months.
The Islamists and some reformists have accused Moussa and ex-Prime Minister Shafiq of being part of the Mubarak regime due to their respective roles in government.
Hanan Rida said she was voting for Hamdeen Sabahy because the Islamists had not delivered and the candidates associated with the ex-regime could not be trusted.
"No, they [the Islamist parties] are supposed to have delivered on certain things to the people once they got into parliament, but of course they did not deliver, and they let the people down, so we have decided not to support anyone from the Muslim Brotherhood or from the remnants of the old regime," she said.
But ex-Prime Minister Shafiq has attracted significant support from Egyptians unsettled by the security vacuum that has led to a rise in crime since Mubarak's fall, and others who see him as a capable politician and safe pair of hands.
"We are going to vote for [presidential candidate] Ahmed Shafiq. Why? Because he has no political affiliation or political party. And he is a person with ideas. And he is the one who developed the new airport. So I expect great things from him. I expect him to turn Egypt into something beautiful," said Wagdi Nabil Adli.
Abdel Moneim Abol Futouh has come out ahead in several polls and is seen as likely to go into a runoff with Moussa, who also consistently polls in the top two.
Abol Futouh quit the Muslim Brotherhood when he defied their demand that he not announce his candidacy for president and since then he has successfully reached out to both liberals and ultra-conservative Islamists alike by emphasizing his longtime championing of reform and emphasis on tolerant Islamism.
But with the elections less than 48 hours away it is still anyone's guess as to which two candidates will make it into the all-important runoff on June 16th and 17th, and win a shot at becoming Egypt's first freely elected president. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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