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Egypt's historic presidential poll ends smoothly
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-09-08 14:06 Observers believed the media have generally done a good job by having
balanced coverage, for the state-run television allowed critics to speak out to
the nation.
Al Ghad (Tomorrow) party candidate Ayman Nour, critic of Mubarak, commended
the poll as a "defining moment" in Egypt's history.
"The election was a defining moment in the country's history as Egyptian
voters were able to choose freely who will lead them," the 40-year-old
opposition candidate said after casting his ballot in Cairo.
An Egyptian woman enters a polling station to
cast her vote in Egypt's first contested presidential elections in Cairo
September 7, 2005. [Reuters] | The monitoring of
the poll, a contentious topic in the run-up to the election, was well dealt with
after the Presidential Election Commission (PEC) decided to allow independent
monitors from non- governmental organizations in polling stations for
supervision.
"Civil society groups can visit polling stations on condition that they do
not interfere in or block the election process," the commission said in a
statement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua.
The commission had originally refused to endorse independent monitoring of
the poll, saying that the judiciary could provide full supervision of the
electoral process.
This handout picture released by Egypt's
ruling National Democratic Party shows President Hosni Mubarak casting his
vote in the country's first ever contested presidential election at a
polling station in Cairo. [AFP] | According to the PEC, vote counting will first be carried out at polling
stations, with each judge emptying ballot boxes at the end of the vote.
The general committees at governorate level will then inform PEC
representatives of the count results, which will be passed on to the PEC in
Cairo in order to sort out the votes and declare the winner.
The preliminary results are likely to be announced on Friday. If no candidate
wins over 50 percent of the votes, a second round of voting will be held on
September 17 between the top two candidates in the first round.
In case there is no run-off, the People's Assembly will be recalled within
the week for an extraordinary session to swear in the new
president.
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 | | | Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder campaigning | | |  | | | Rescue continues in New Orleans | | |  | | | Egyptian presidential election campaigns conclude | | |
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