18:43 Polling stations 96 and 97 in the Cairo Neighborhood of Maadi were closed for 20 minutes after a shortage of ballots, confusing voters. 4:54 pm Military forces used tazers to secure the Ezbet El-Walda School and close polling station headquarters in Helwan because of overcrowding. 4:51pm Maadi youth launched an awareness campaign outside polling stations of the Kawmia, Experimental, Mohamed Farid and Moustafa Kamel schools. The campaign, under the slogan "your voice is your conscious," sought to raise awareness of voting techniques. Others started cleaning the streets and distributing mineral water, drinks and food to voters. 03:33pm Hundreds of voters in the Mataryia region are complaining that voters' lists and officers in the polling stations are very late. Others are complaining about a lack of fingerprint ink in some stations. 02:50pm A security official halted voting procedures in a polling station in the Gamallia region. The supervisor of the station withdrew because Egyptian voters surrounded him. 02:30pm The Interior Ministry suspended voting in two al-Daher committees because the judge supervising left his post. 02:17pm Some citizens expressed frustration and resentment due to a lack of monitoring judges in many electoral committees in Helwan, a Cairo suburb. The authorities decided to merge the electoral committees in Helwan and Maadi. 02:15pm The electoral committee in al-Manial reported very heavy voter turnout from early this morning, including women. 02:13pm A number of demonstrators from Tahrir Square today went to vote in the parliamentary elections dressed in black. Their participation does not reflect their satisfaction with the ruling military council, they reported. They are participating to respond to the will of the Egyptian people who support the holding of elections, they said, adding that they will resume their strike after the elections conclude. 02:08pm Egyptian voters cast their voters in polling stations in al-Qarabya school near the Egyptian Ministry of Interior headquarters under the siege of barbed wires and security of army soldiers in Mohammad Mahmoud St., where there were violent clashes between Tahrir protesters and security forces during the past week. 02:04pm The Egyptian Interior Ministry decided to suspend the police officer who intentionally delayed the delivery of ballots to five electoral committees, Chairman of the High Elections Commission Abdel Moez Ibrahim reported. The polling stations witnessed a great turnout while the people committees from youth of Freedom and Justice Party coordinated with security and military forces to guide the voters to their sub-committees. 01:57pm Head of Egyptian Tahrir Party Ibrahim Zahran expressed his resentment towards delaying the voting in some polling stations in Nasr city, Cairo. The voting started at 11:00 A.M. although the voters formed queues at their stations since 7:00 A.M. 01:49pm In polling station in Freres De La Salle School in al-Dhamer neighborhood, Cairo, the monitoring judge left the sub-committee after arising disputes between him and one of the female voters since she was abstained from voting, when she found the voting card unstamped by the Supreme Electoral Committee. Thus, many people crowded at the station but he returned ten minutes later. 01:42pm The polling stations witnessed a great turnout during the earlier hours amid the presence of the armed forces in Bulaq Aboul Ela constituency in Cairo but the number of voters decreased at around noon because the streets slightly flooded because of rains. The polling station of Al-Salam primary school in the neighborhood is secured by people committees. 01:34pm Polling stations in Shubra saw massive turnout both of women and Coptic Christians. These voters said that they felt safe and were well secured by the police and army. 01:32pm Hundreds of voters organized a strike in front of an electoral committee because the chairman of the committee refused to sign the voting papers. The army tried to control the situation. 01:28pm An argument broke out in the Moamalat School polling station in Shubra after the presiding judge refused to sign the unstamped ballot cards. Judges were earlier order to sign all unstamped cards by the High Electoral Committee. Other voters complained about voting stations opening late and the lack of fingerprint ink. 01:26pm After a long delay ballot cards were finally delivered to the heads of polling stations in Hadayk el-Qobba. The polling station chiefs had not received the ballot cards, which they subsequently blamed on the High Electoral Committee. 01:26pm Elections in the South Cairo district went smoothly for the most part, though some voters complained that their polling stations opened late. Some candidates also continued to campaign outside the stations, contravening Egyptian election law. 01:23pm The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party representatives campaigned for their candidates inside the polling stations in Ahmed Orabi School in al-Zawya al-Hamra, Cairo. However, the police security asked them to stop and campaign outside the polling station. One Salafi candidate rented a barber's shop to guide the voters, while the Al-Wafd Party's candidate rented a grocery store to campaign himself. 01:22pm Thousands of people arrived at the Basateen School in the ninth electoral district at 9:00 a.m. to cast ballots. The polling stations were noticeably free of clashes between supporters of different campaigns. 01:22pm The armed forces intervened in a polling station in Ahmed Abdel Aziz School in Roud al-Farag, Cairo, after arousing altercations among the female voters because of the slow voting process. 01:19pm Polling stations in Gawhar al-Seqilli preparatory school were delayed for voters because the monitoring judges arrived after 12:00 P.M. rather than the initial schedule at 7:00 A.M. 01:18pm Several voters left the polling stations without voting in the parliamentary elections in Ain Shams neighborhood, Cairo, because the monitoring judges delayed voting for four hours. Thus the potential voters were discontent with this problem and blamed the High Electoral Committee, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior and Egypt's ruling military council. 01:18pm Some voters at the Ahmed Shawky School in Matariya headed to the police station to report the lack of voting lists, as it is preventing them from casting ballots. 01:08pm Potential presidential candidate and former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq today voted at the Nabrawy School at 11:30 a.m. Supporters surrounded him when he entered the polling station. Shafiq assured his supporters that new Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri is a good figure to lead Egypt out of the current crisis. 01:00pm Three people fainted outside the Abu Seir School in the El Salam constituent. The crowd waiting to vote is swollen with people. 12:31pm The armed forces closed Foad Street and Shubra Street in the Rod el-Farag region because of crowds of people outside the polling stations. The al-Nour Party distributed electoral leaflets in coordination with the Freedom and Justice Party, reportedly. 12:14pm Al-Azhar Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb voted at 10:30am inside Heliopolis School. Al-Tayeb insisted on waiting in line with the other voters, and refused to be ushered inside by Security Forces. He urged all Egyptians to participate in the elections, saying elections are the first step in achieving democracy. 12:11pm Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces, visited the el-Wayly region to follow the parliamentary elections firsthand. 12:09pm An Electoral Supervising Judge in el-Wayly closed polling station number 347 after he found it had open before his arrival. The polling station's ballots were sealed and voters were prohibited from voting at this station. 11:50am Security forces use tasers to prevent voters from breaking into polling stations in the Monshaet Naser neighborhood. 11:49am The Zawya al-Hamra region is experiencing high voter turnout. Many citizens are standing in long lines to vote. Some polling stations in the area opened late. 11:31am North Cairo polling stations still closed despite growing crowd of voters. 11:30am Polling station observers gathered in the Abdeen Youth Center protesting against their replacement in the Dard al Ahmar region. 11:21am Egyptian parliamentary candidate Gameela Ismail visited polling stations in Cairo's sixth district, where she is running as an independent. 11:15am Hundreds of citizens reported thick smoke coming from a building near polling site in the Baba Sherya region. Citizens called a fire truck to control the fire. 11:07am Voters in the Qasr el-Nil polling stations were surprised to find that many of the group lists were not stamped and many refused to vote as a result. 11:00am A number of activists today reported that in early voting in the first constituency of North Cairo in Shubra several boxes full of ballot cards were thrown outside the polling station. The police had left the boxes unguarded and some citizens stole them, the activists said. One of the polling station employees reported that the ballot cards had been placed in open containers. 10:53am The armed forces and police today arrested a voter carrying a knife inside a polling station in Manshyet Naser. He was promptly taken to the police station for booking and investigation. Tight security and organization continues to keep many polling stations calm and incident-free. 10:46am Reform and Development Party candidate Adel Barbary today was surprised to discover that his number was changed from 149, then to 143 and finally to 140. He claimed that he will file an appeal with the Supreme Electoral Committee. 10:30am Slight clashes occurred between voters and polling station employees in Nasr City because some ballots were missing the stamps that validate them. Voters stopped the voting process by closing the polling station, in fear of forgery. The Coptic School polling station in Qolaly closed its doors because voting cards were not stamped and the judges were late. A number of citizens in Shubra polling station refused to vote due to the absence of the employees and attempts to get them to vote without the station's delegates arriving. 10:20am Roughly 300 polling stations have not yet received ballots for today's elections, creating a major delay in voting. Committee chairmen blamed the government for poor organization of the electoral process. 10:15am The Supreme Electoral Council has granted 10 international organizations permission to supervise the Egyptian elections by sending 300 monitors, Youm7 learned. Among the institutions are American organizations International Republican Institute (I.R.I.), National Democratic Institute (N.D.I.) and the Carter Organization. Danish, Polish, Turkish, and South African organizations also obtained permits to supervise the parliamentary elections, in addition to two other Arab organizations. Amnesty International has also sent a team. 10:12am Arab League General-Secretary Nabil al-Arabi today visited the polling station at the headquarters of the Faculty of Sport for girls in Zamalek. 10:07am Clashes erupted between voters after the voting process was delayed 40 minutes and one hour in two stations in Shubra. 10:03am There is a huge flow of voters at the polling stations of the third constituency, but polling stations didn't open their doors until 10:00 a.m., reported Coordinator of the Democratic Alliance Waheed Abdel Mageed. 09:49am Hundreds of voters headed to polling stations in Bab el-Shariyah and el-Zaher, however 90 percent of the polling stations delayed the opening of the stations. The judiciary committees arrived at 7:00 a.m. 09:48am The voting period in the Sayeda Khadeega School in Maadi extended the deadline to vote from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. because polling station workers arrived at the station late. The ballots were also late. 09:47am Hundreds of voters in the Kobry el-Qobba and Sadat Schools were delayed as the election papers arrived late. 09:40am Heliopolis Preparatory School for girls was still closed as of 9:30am because the delegates of the committees had not arrived, which led to many crowds outside the committees. Polling stations should have opened at 8am. There were minor clashes between would-be voters and a member of the military over the delay, but a journalist stepped in to calm the issue. 09:38am There is a mass influx of voters at the Rod El-Farag polling station in Cairo's first constituentcy. 09:36am Hundreds of citizens gathered outside the polling stations in Sayeda Zeinab while waiting for the main polling station to open. The armed forces secured the area. 09:31am Minister of Solidarity and Social Justice Gouda Abdel Khaleq left the polling station in Sayeda Khadiga without voting due to disorganization and delayed balloting. He claimed that he would return at the end of the day to cast a ballot. 09:29 am Some candidates, including those from the Freedom and Justice Party, in Mansheyat Nasser and El Gamaleya continued campaigning, despite the ban on electioneering on election day. Other candidates used microphones outside polling stations and on the street. Candidate Hedar Boghdady brought women in cars. 09:10am Presidential hopeful Amr Moussa arrived at Fatma al-Zahraa School in New Cairo to cast his vote this morning. Moussa stood in line with about 200 other people waiting to enter the polling station 08:50am Hundreds of residents of Cairo's Shubra neighborhood turned out early this morning to participate in elections. They queued outside polling stations amid intensive security presence of both police and military forces. Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party gathered outside polling stations, informing voters of their candidates. Representatives of the Reform and Development Party also toured in the area, demanding people vote for their candidates. 08:30am Some Maadi polling stations opened 30 minutes late because the judges who should monitor the polling stations had not arrived. Independent candidate Mostafa Bakry told Youm7 there was a discrepancy in the distribution of the judges, which caused the delay. Polling stations in other areas in Cairo were delayed because no ballots had been delivered, including Helwan and Zamalek. 1:00am Egypt's Ministry of Health has drafted a plan to secure the first stage of elections for the People's Assembly, the lower house of Egypt's bicameral parliament, which began today. The ministry will provide 533 ambulances in the governorates which will witness the elections. The ministry raised the emergency state in different facilities in the nine governorates that are voting today. They also checked the validity of ambulances and medical devices in the different hospitals.
