On election day, Wafd's presidential candidate hoped that election results were not predetermined and stressed that only the people could facilitate a truly democratic electoral process, reports Reem Nafie The Wafd Party headquarters was buzzing with campaigners and journalists early Wednesday morning. Every now and then, a campaigner would enter the old architectural building and complain they were not allowed to vote. Journalists sat around on the marble stairs at the entrance of the building, waiting for the party's buses to transport them to Zamalek, where , Al-Wafd Party leader and presidential candidate, resides and where he was to cast his ballot. While Wafdists declined to admit it, they realised that when all was said and done, Gomaa would not emerge as the winner of Egypt's first elections. "We tried, but all pointers indicate that Mubarak will win," a Wafdist bus driver shrugged his shoulders in frustration. Eventually, the buses took journalists to Zamalek, where Gomaa's wife, Salwa Gabr Hassan, and her two daughters were the first to meet more than a dozen journalists and cameramen gathered in front of their building. Looking very tired, Gomaa's wife told reporters that she was proud of her husband. "He believes in his cause," she said. His daughters promptly announced that it was too early to determine who had won the elections and scoffed at the reporters' remarks that the race was a fait accompli. "How can you be so sure?" one daughter asked. A few minutes later, photographers started flashing their cameras in the direction of the elevator as Gomaa made an appearance at exactly 1:30pm, just as his office had announced the day before. He echoed what his family had been saying, "I have hope, and I've been watching the electoral progress on television, and it seems to be going fine, let's not make any assumptions." The 71-year-old, former law school dean, then strolled to the University of Fine Arts, with a sullen group of journalists and campaigners. Cars stopped in the street, curious to see who was getting all the attention. In the polling station, located inside the university, Gomaa dipped his finger in the indelible red ink to indicate he had voted, and cast his ballot. In the university garden, the cheerful Gomaa stuck his scarlet-stained thumb at reporters, insisting that the outcome of the elections will reflect the people's choice. If Mubarak wins the elections, "the Egyptian people are to blame. According to preliminary figures, only 10 per cent of the electorate voted. The country's future is being blotched up because the people prefer to stay at home and rest, rather than vote," Gomaa said. He called on Egyptians to vote and engineer change. "Civil rights groups cannot realise democracy for us, judges cannot ensure the fairness of elections, only the Egyptian people can force change," he said. Gomaa complained that his campaigners faced problems reaching their party's supporters because the voting lists were only handed to the party a few months ago. Unlike his opponent, the Liberal Ghad Party Leader Ayman Nour, Gomaa did not attack the government on grounds of forgery. He said that if he loses the elections, he will ask the next president to keep his word and fulfill the people's aspirations. "We will continue to exert political pressure and press for reform," he said.
