Egypt prepares for polls
2005-09-05 12:26
Cairo - Veteran President Hosni Mubarak urged Egyptians to go to the polls for the nation's first contested presidential election, but a ban on independent monitors fuelled concerns Monday about transparency.
There has never been any doubt that the 77-year-old Mubarak - already the second longest-serving ruler in the region - will win a fifth mandate on Wednesday.
"The Hosni Mubarak speaking to you tonight is seeking the support of each and everyone of you," he told a crowd of thousands of supporters gathered in Cairo for his closing campaign rally.
"We want more freedom for our people and democracy for our country. We want more jobs and a stronger economy," he said, hammering home the economic pledge which was the centrepiece of his campaign.
Aggressive campaign
Opposition Ghad party leader Ayman Nur has led by far the most aggressive campaign of the nine challengers, launching stinging attacks against the veteran Mubarak, whose aura as father of the nation had made him untouchable for so long.
"We want freedom, we want to end 24 years of oppression, economic crisis and joblessness," Nur thundered relentlessly as he criss-crossed the country.
The 40-year-old Nur - by far the youngest of the 10 candidates vying for the presidency - pounded the pavement and pressed flesh during a campaign that culminated in a large gathering on Cairo's largest square.
Although he managed to raise his profile as the leading opposition candidate, many observers predict second spot could be clinched by Numan Gumaa, who chairs the liberal Wafd party.
Critics have charged Gumaa is a token opposition candidate who was prodded into standing by Mubarak's ruling party to strip Nur of votes.
Unknown candidates
The seven other candidates are largely unknown to even Egyptians and have advocated sometimes outlandish platforms, such as developing the nuclear bomb, bringing back Jews or imposing the black-tasselled tarbush hat on the whole population.
The country's Christian minority, women and the Muslim Brotherhood - the largest opposition movement in Egypt - are notably absent from the selection.
But a wind of change has blown through Egypt since the start of the campaign on August 17, with guests criticising Mubarak on state television and independent newspapers carrying vitriolic editorials against the regime.
"The significance of this election isn't the possibility of unseating Mubarak, but the fact that many Egyptians have boldly challenged his quarter century of rule," the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch said.
As 32 million voters mull their choice for an election whose outcome is already known, the main battle was being fought over the monitoring of Egypt's close to 10 000 polling stations.
Most observers argue Mubarak still has the means of granting himself the score he chooses, but a determined group of more than 30 civil society organisations were training monitors until the last minute.
The country's judges - who are tasked with supervising the polling process - have warned that they would not endorse the results of the vote if the electoral commission did not grant them more independence.