Security was increased in Egypt today ahead of the country’s first parliamentary elections since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak.
Parliamentary election results are expected by mid-January. The presidential election will be held early next year.
Egyptians turned out early to vote in the first elections since the removal of regime leader Hosni Mubarak.
The AP reported:
Shaking off years of political apathy, Egyptians turned out in long lines at voting stations Monday in their nation’s first parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, a giant step toward what they hope will be a democracy after decades of dictatorship.
The landmark election has already been overshadowed by turmoil in the streets over the past week, and the population is sharply polarized and confused over the nation’s direction. Still, the vote promises to be the fairest and cleanest election in Egypt in living memory.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest and best organized group, along with its Islamist allies are expected to do well in the vote, which has been a source of concern for secular and liberal Egyptians who fear the Brotherhood will try to implement a strict version of Islamic law in the country.
Early in the day, voters stood in lines stretching several hundred yards outside some polling centers in Cairo well before they opened at 8 a.m. local time (0600GMT), suggesting a respectable turnout. Many said they were voting for the first time, a sign of an enthusiasm that in this election one’s vote mattered.