Wednesday's presidential elections contained a few surprises but no shocks, writes Shaden Shehab While yesterday's first multi-candidate presidential elections were being widely hailed as a historic development that will determine the direction of political life in Egypt for the foreseeable future the jury remains out on whether that future holds the promise of yet more democratic reforms. The incumbent, President Hosni Mubarak, faced nine rival candidates at the polls though only two -- Ayman Nour of the Ghad and Noaman Gomaa of the Wafd -- were considered serious contenders. Across the nation polling stations, almost 10,000 of them, opened their doors at 8am for a marathon 14 hours. They were due to close at 10pm. While the use of phosphorescent ink and the judicial supervision of polling stations had been trailed as guaranteeing a free and fair vote allegations of electoral irregularities inevitably arose on a day when the world's media was focused on Egypt. Polling stations were supervised by thousands of judges, alongside members of judicial bodies not necessarily judges themselves. The Presidential Election Committee (PEC) had earlier agreed that candidates' representatives would also be allowed to observe the poll. Then, two hours into the vote, came the first surprise with the sudden announcement by the PEC that independent monitors would be allowed inside polling stations provided they obtain official authorisation from the commission. The issue had been at the heart of a three-week long tussle between NGOs seeking access and the PEC, with the Cairo Administrative Court finding in favour of the NGOs on Sunday only to have its verdict overturned by the Supreme Administrative Court two days later. The PEC, having spent weeks steadfastly refusing access to independent monitors, said its U-turn was aimed at "proving that the vote was transparent... The commission had not banned monitors because it feared supervision but in order to regulate work inside polling stations". The lateness of the decision, though, was interpreted by some observers as an attempt by the PEC to improve the credibility of the elections while simultaneously ensuring independent monitors would have insufficient time to prepare. Human rights and opposition groups raised a catalogue of objections to a process which, they said, had been "riddled with abuses and irregularities". Their objections include unregistered voters being allowed to vote, raising the spectre of multiple voting; the refusal to allow candidates' representatives inside some polling stations though the PEC had guaranteed that they would have access, and the failure of some stations to provide phosphorescent ink and curtained voting booths ensuring privacy. Allegations that in some polling stations voters were urged by NDP supporters to vote for Mubarak, or else promised food, money and preferential treatment on pilgrimages to holy sites, were also made, along with charges that public transport had been requisitioned to ferry voters to polling stations. And, despite the PEC's surprise announcement that independent monitors would be allowed access, according to the Independent Committee of Election Monitors some of its representatives, particularly in Upper Egypt, had been "beaten, apprehended and interrogated". The government was keen to get people out to vote, with the state-owned media beginning the day by urging the electorate to free itself of apathy. Religious figures, including the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, and Pope Shenouda, went on air to say that voting was a religious duty. Whether the campaign won over a public caught between believing the elections were serious or that they mattered little given that Mubarak would win anyway, will become clearer when voter figures are released. And while some voters were confused at people without voting cards being permitted to vote on presenting their ID while others were refused on the same basis, yet others turned up at polling stations fearing that should they not they would, as was widely reported in the media, face a LE100 fine. Others preferred to stay home altogether, fearing disruptions. While Egypt has 32 million registered voters turnout in previous elections has been low, with some estimates putting the figure at less than 10 per cent. While many were surprised by the PEC's turnaround on the issue of independent monitors others were taken aback by the restraint shown by security forces. Hours before the polls opened Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif had warned that no demonstrations would be permitted during election day while the Interior Ministry official in charge of elections said that any protests would be "firmly dealt with". Yet as up to 1,500 protesters filed into Cairo's Tahrir Square at noon yesterday the conspicuous absence of riot police, who on two recent occasions had broken up demonstrations violently, caught many unawares. The protest, organised by Youth for Change (YFC), an affiliate of Kifaya, the Egyptian Movement for Change, was observed by a large number of local and foreign journalists. "There are two trends within the regime, with one championing a heavy- handed security strategy and the other preferring a more conciliatory political approach. It seems today the more gentle political approach had the upper hand which explains why the demonstrators were not attacked," said Leila Soueif, a university professor and member of the Popular Campaign for Change . Other commentators suggested that the massive media presence had worked to the advantage of the demonstrators with the regime seeking to promote a more positive image of tolerance in the face of unprecedented international scrutiny. Although the results are not expected to be announced before Saturday few doubt that the 77-year-old incumbent Mubarak will emerge as the victor.
