الرئيسية
An Egyptian woman reads a newspaper as she queues with
fellow voters outside a polling station in the Cairo neighbourhood of
Zamalek on November 28, 2011. Voting passed off peacefully and the
polling booths closed at the extended time of 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) to
enable the thousands who waited for hours in long queues to cast their
ballots.(AFP/Odd Andersen)
By Jailan Zayan, AFP
CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt wrapped up the start of its first
post-revolution election on Tuesday after two days of peaceful voting
hailed as a triumph in a nation at the heart of the Arab Spring.
On
Monday and Tuesday, millions filed into polling stations in the capital
Cairo and second-city Alexandria as Egyptians embraced new freedoms won
by the toppling of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in February.
The
interim ruling military leaders in charge since the uprising expressed
their "happiness" at proceedings, while UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon
sent his congratulations over the "generally calm and orderly" conduct
of the poll.
"The election has been a huge success," declared
Ahmed Nashaat, a 29-year-old member of the leading Islamist group the
Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) as night fell at a polling station in
central Cairo.
Turn-out had been high, he said, security well
controlled by the army and police, while there was "no vote rigging
worth mentioning" -- in stark contrast with the 30-year Mubarak era when
such abuses were widespread.
Analysts warned, however, that the
country faced huge challenges ahead in its long, complicated and
uncertain transition to democracy that is scheduled to finish only in
June next year under the current timetable.
The vote on Monday
and Tuesday in Cairo, Alexandria and other areas was the first of three
stages of an election for a new lower house of parliament. The rest of
the country follows next month and in January.
Counting began as
polling booths closed at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) and the preliminary results
-- the first glimpse of Egypt's fragmented and ideologically split
political landscape -- are to be published on Wednesday.
The FJP,
the party of the formerly banned Muslim Brotherhood, a moderate
Islamist group, is expected to emerge as the largest power in the new
lower parliament when final results are published on January 13.
The
backdrop to the vote had been ominous after a week of protests calling
for the resignation of the interim military rulers who stepped in at the
end of Mubarak's rule. Forty-two people were killed and more than 3,000
injured.
Egypt's stock market closed up 5.48 percent on Tuesday
as investors welcomed the stability after weeks of falls caused by the
political upheaval and unrest.
The successful first stage of the
election was a boost for army leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who
insisted voting should go ahead despite the unrest last week.
The
army "played the election card to stabilise the country in the face of
pressure from the street," said Tewfik Aclimandos, an expert at the
College de France, a leading academic institute.
Tantawi
"expressed his happiness at the way the process was carried out and the
high turnout, especially among women and the young," said Ismail Etman, a
member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).
Protesters
last week had again occupied Tahrir Square in Cairo, the epicentre of
protests against Mubarak, but this time they were calling for the
resignation of Tantawi and his fellow generals.
The
demonstrations stemmed from fears that the junta, initially welcomed as a
source of stability after Mubarak's fall, was looking to consolidate
its power and was mishandling the transition period.
Figures for
the turn-out on Monday and Tuesday have not been officially given, but
Etman from the SCAF estimated it could reach up to 70 percent --
unprecedented in the Mubarak era.
The election "might very well
be seen as a positive step in Egypt's transition," wrote political
commentator Issandr El-Amrani, referring to the "public buy-in" to
democracy and "a symbolic shift" from the army to parliament.
He
warned, however, about the "incompetent" organisation of the long and
complicated election process, as well as the myriad uncertainties
surrounding the army's future role and the transition process.
Each of the three stages of the election for the lower house of parliament will be followed by a run-off vote a week later.
Once
final results are published in January, the country will then head into
another three rounds of voting to elect an upper house, in a process
widely criticised for its complexity.
As well as the Muslim
Brotherhood, hardline Islamists, secular parties and groups representing
the interests of the former Mubarak regime are all expected to win
seats.
The stakes are high for Egypt, the cultural leader of the
Arab world -- and the conduct and results of the election will have
repercussions for the entire Middle East at a time of wrenching change
caused by the Arab Spring.