Egyptians turn up in millions to vote in new presidential polls | WPN World People News

Millions of Egyptians cast their vote on Wednesday in the country's first presidential election since throwing out Hosni Mubarak in the Arab Spring uprising 15 months ago.

Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations as people participated in the historic elections

Around 50 million people are eligible to vote and have to choose from among 13 candidates.

The military council, which assumed presidential power in February last year, has assured the vote will be fair.

In case no candidate gets an absolute majority, the top two vote-getters would compete in a runoff on June 16 and 17. The winner of the runoff would become president and take office before July 1.

Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri has declared a day off for the government employees during the election so that work is not affected.

Among the frontrunners in the election are: Ahmed Shafiq, Amr Moussa and Mohammed Mursi.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) has sought to reassure Egyptians that the voters would be deciding their next president.

"It is important that we all accept the election results, which will reflect the free choice of the Egyptian people, bearing in mind that Egypt's democratic process is taking its first step and we all must contribute to its success," it said in a statement on Monday.

The cabinet met Wednesday to discuss monitoring of the presidential election.

Source:Middle East News.Net