Egypt counts votes after landmark election

Officials are counting votes today after Egypt’s first contested presidential election, a landmark ballot seen as a test of the government’s commitment to reform and America's push for greater democracy across the Middle East.

But there is little doubt over the results – President Hosni Mubarak is nearly certain to emerge the winner of another six years in power. But the process, for many, was more important.

The government had been vowing a clean vote, but yesterday’s election was marred by widespread reports of pressure and intimidation by the ruling party for voters to support Mubarak.

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 claimed.

The leading opposition candidate, Ayman Nour, said 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 it called a major step towards 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 realises more freedom and more democracy in the Egyptian society,” information minister Anas al-Fiqi said last night.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US government was following the election closely and called the vote “a beginning”.

A key question was turnout. The number of voters might indicate how much Egyptians, apathetic by years of stagnation, are convinced by reform claims.

As polls closed, the government did not have turnout figures, but officials said large crowds had been seen at some polling stations. Several independent monitoring groups said they expected turnout to be low.

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

Nine candidates ran against Mubarak this time, but only two were considered significant – Nour of the al-Ghad Party and Noaman Gomaa of the Wafd – and the president was expected to win handily. Final results are not due until Saturday.