Egypt became a republic in 1953, but have never held open elections

Today Egyptians will be able to go to the polls and elect their leader in a democratic fashion for the first time in their recorded history.

In February last year, the previous Egyptian leader, autocrat Hosni Mubarak, was ousted from power in a popular uprising. The military council that assumed power following Mubarak’s fall has promised free and fair civilian rule.

The election will take place today and tomorrow, and approximately 50 million voters are eligible. Should no consensus emerge from this first ballot, a run off election will happen in June. Twelve candidates are up for Egypt’s top spot, with some confusion remaining over exactly what powers the President will have, given no new constitution has been approved.

Of the twelve candidates, four are considered frontrunners for election:

• Ahmed Shafiq, a former commander of the air force and briefly prime minister during February 2011 protests
• Amr Moussa, who has served as foreign minister and head of the Arab League
• Mohammed Mursi, who heads Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party
• Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an independent Islamist candidate

Egypt’s new president faces a stack of challenges, no less restabilising the economy, and reassuring Egyptians of the resumption of civilian rule. Another challenge will be to effectively wean the military from the position of power they’ve had since Mubarak’s resignation last year. There have sporadic outbreaks of violence since February last year, and there is concern over further violence as the results become known.

Current Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzuri expressed hope that the election would be calm last night, calling on “candidates, political forces, parties to urge their supporters to respect the will of others and accept the results of the election”.

[Source: BBC News, News 24, Pomed]