Voters poured into polling stations Wednesday in the second round of landmark elections that will shape Egypt’s post-revolution future, with many backing Islamists who have already emerged as front-runners. Some 18.8 million Egyptians are eligible to cast their ballots in the second round of the three-phase legislative polls, the first since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February after 30 years in power.
The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which clinched the most seats in the opening phase through its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), was eager to sustain the momentum. “For a strong parliament, which meets the demands, the concerns and the priorities of the people, let’s continue,” the party said on its official Facebook page. Long queues formed outside polling stations in a third of Egypt’s provinces, where voting kicked off at 8:00 am (0600 GMT).
At the Mohammed Qureib school in the Giza working class Bahr al-Aatham neighbourhood, soldiers were letting voters through five or six at a time. A policeman admonished the voters not to campaign for candidates or talk about their preferences, but some were eager to explain why they were voting for the FJP.
