久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Mubarak leads Egypt presidential election
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-08 20:48

President Hosni Mubarak took an overwhelming early lead in his country's first-ever contested presidential race, an election commission official said Thursday, in a ballot marred by low turnout and widespread reports of voter intimidation.


Hosni Mubarak, leader of the ruling National Democratic party, talks to his party officials at the operation room of his party campaign in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Sept.7, 2005. Ten candidates run in the country's first ever multi-candidate presidential elections, including veteran President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak's finger was dipped in indelible ink to indicate that he has voted . [AP]
 

With all of the votes counted in half of the country's polling stations, Mubarak had at least 70 percent of the vote, said the electoral commission official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge results. The remaining votes were shared between the two principal challengers, Ayman Nour of the al-Ghad Party and Noaman Gomaa of the Wafd Party, the official said.

A Mubarak win has long been forecast, and for many, the process of Wednesday's election was more important than the results. The poll tested the government's commitment to reform and the U.S. push for greater democracy in the Middle East.

The government had promised a clean vote, but polling was marred by widespread reports of pressure and intimidation for voters to support Mubarak.

The election also suffered from low turnout. The authorities did not give an official figure, but the electoral commision official said turnout was about 30 percent. The same percentage was given Thursay by an official in Mubarak's campaign headquarters, who also spoke anonymously. Several independent monitoring groups said during Wednesday's polling that turnout appeared poor.

If that figure holds, and it turns out that 70 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters did not take part, it would indicate that most Egyptians did not have much faith in the election to vote.

Opposition party members, human rights monitors and citizens told The Associated Press that some poll officials in Luxor and other towns instructed voters to choose Mubarak. In Cairo and Alexandria, supporters of the ruling National Democratic Party promised food or money to poor people if they voted for Mubarak, voters said.

Nour, the leading opposition candidate, charged the elections "are not fair at all," and vowed to reject rigged results.

The government played down reports of problems, saying they did not diminish what they called a major step toward democracy.

"There may be some comments, maybe some violations happened, but we have to agree that we're seeing an experience that we can build on for a future that realizes more freedom and more democracy in the Egyptian society," Information Minister Anas al-Fiqi told reporters after polls closed late Wednesday night.

The electoral commission official and the Mubarak campaign officer said that as counting was proceeding faster than expected, final results would probably be announced Friday rather than Saturday.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. government was following the election closely and called the vote "a beginning."

"These elections really mark a historic departure for Egypt, in the fact that you have multicandidate presidential elections. I think it's safe to say that Egyptians have not seen a presidential election like the one they have just seen in their lifetimes," he told reporters.

The 77-year-old Mubarak has ruled Egypt for 24 years, re-elected in referendums in which he was the only candidate

His government has said the contested election will open the door to more democratic reforms, but many have been skeptical he will really loosen his grip on power. Most major opposition parties boycotted the vote, saying he held an unfair advantage in the polls because of his government's domination of politics.

In one clear sign of the changes sweeping Egypt, more than 3,000 people marched through downtown Cairo at midafternoon to protest against Mubarak — by far the largest crowd ever drawn by the group Kifaya, or "Enough" in Arabic. Police watched from a distance despite government vows to block protests. Two demonstrators were beaten by government supporters.

Many Egyptians say what they really hope for is change without disruption, crisis or violence, leading to better jobs and more opportunities in the economically ailing country of 72 million people.

Ahmed Muhieddin el-Baz, a government engineer, said he backed Mubarak because of his "accomplishments, and at the same time, none of the competitors is stronger than him."

Mahmoud Youssry, a Cairo resident, said he wanted to vote for Nour "even if he's bad. At least we would have broken the barrier of fear."

There were widespread charges of voter fraud and intimidation — though not the level of violence and flagrant rigging that have marred parliamentary votes.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, which formed a coalition with other groups to put monitors at polls, said ruling party officials were allowed into some polling stations in Alexandria and forced voters to choose Mubarak.

In Beni Suef, 60 miles south of Cairo, NDP officials threatened to cut some people's monthly pensions if they didn't vote for the president, the group said. It said an NDP official in a poor Cairo neighborhood gave women nearly $10 each to vote for Mubarak.

In the southern town of Luxor, 300 miles from Cairo, university student Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Ali said a poll worker told him he couldn't vote unless he had an NDP-issued voting card. When Ali insisted on voting, "he told me that I must vote for Mubarak or no one else," Ali said.

Osama Attawiya, spokesman for the country's election commission, said the panel had received no major complaints or reports of problems.

And a top official in the opposition Wafd party, El-Sayed el-Badawy, said that while fraud and intimidation were apparent, "This is the first time for a president to reach out to the citizens and ask for their support. This is a positive thing."



Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder campaigning
Rescue continues in New Orleans
Egyptian presidential election campaigns conclude
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Siberian oil pipeline to go to China first: Putin

 

   
 

N. Korea nuclear talks to resume Sept 13

 

   
 

President Hu due in Canada for visit

 

   
 

Japanese encephalitis kills 53 in India

 

   
 

Concerns grow about toxic floodwaters

 

   
 

Probe: U.N. unable to run large program

 

   
  Mubarak leads Egypt presidential election
   
  Concerns grow about toxic floodwaters
   
  Saddam did not confess to mass killings - lawyer
   
  North Korea demands withdrawal of US troops from South
   
  Typhoon Nabi leaves 32 dead or missing in Japan
   
  Egypt's historic presidential poll ends smoothly
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 一区二区三区日韩精品 | 国产区一区| 亚洲一区二区在线 | 18视频免费网站 | 成人看的午夜免费毛片 | 亚洲精品www久久久久久久软件 | 巨大热杵在腿间进进出出视频 | 免费看欧美一级特黄a大片一 | 久草在线新首页 | 久久国产视频在线观看 | 欧美激情久久久久久久大片 | 国产精品成人免费观看 | 国产亚洲欧洲一区二区三区 | 午夜两性视频免费看 | 成人观看的视频三级 | 色丁香久久| 美女扒开腿被男人猛视频 | 91精品国产色综合久久不 | 精品视频在线免费看 | 国产在线观看xxxx免费 | 久久精品国产亚洲7777 | 亚洲精品午夜在线观看 | theav视频在线观看 | 真正国产乱子伦高清对白 | 毛片基地免费视频a | 亚洲成人免费在线 | 黄色a三级三级三级免费看 黄色a网 | 国产免费爽爽视频免费可以看 | 毛片网站在线 | 日本三级网站在线观看 | 精品国产一区二区三区在线观看 | 波多野结衣在线观看高清免费资源 | 欧美三级做爰在线 | 亚洲影院国产 | 成人网视频在线观看免费 | 久久欧美成人精品丝袜 | www亚洲免费| 三上悠亚免费一区二区在线 | 特级毛片aaa免费版 特级毛片a级毛免费播放 | 亚洲精品日本 | 亚洲毛片在线观看 |