15:10 A cabinet spokesman said the government cannot interfere in the work of the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC) in response to widespread media calls to allow voters to cast their ballots without residence restrictions.
"PEC is the sole body responsible for making any election-related decisions. It has its own regulations and rules, and we cannot interfere."
Some media anchors pointed the finger at the PEC for the reported lower-than-expected turnout, saying citizens should be able to vote anywhere regardless of where they live.
14:40 The Salafist Nour Party is transporting women to polling stations in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reports.
Nour is the only Islamist faction to support the interim authorities and the political roadmap set up after Morsi's ouster.
Mohamed Hassan, a member of the party’s media committee, says the party wants to help women participate in the election.
14:25 Voter turnout has been picking up in the Suez Canal City of Ismailia and Marsa Matrouh near the Libyan border, according to Al-Ahram Arabic news website.
13:30 El-Sisi campaign accuses Sabahi’s team of breaking the ban on campaigning by its use of the Twitter hashtag Tuesday_For_Hamdeen.
The media coordinator for the El-Sisi campaign said they would be sending an official complaint to the PEC.
13:15 Dar El-Ifta, the official body responsible for issuing religious edicts, said the "positive participation" of voters will be the suitable response to those who "misuse and manipulate religion" to serve their own interests, in an apparent reference to the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Participating in the elections will ensure their defeat," Dar El-Ifta said in a statement on its Facebook page.
13:00 Ali Mahmoud, a 32-year-old taxi driver in Hadayek El-Kobba, said he voted for El-Sisi because the corruption of the Brotherhood made him "realise this country can only be led a military man."
"No civilian can control this country," he added. "I do not care about his electoral programme, what matters the most is whether or not this person is honest and respectable."
12:40 Back to Hadayek El-Kobba, a 42-year-old woman who had just finished casting her ballot at a polling station told Ahram Online’s Sherry El-Gergawy that her three daughters began supporting the Brotherhood after security forces dispersed their pro-Morsi protest camp in Rabaa Al-Adawiya, killing hundreds.
“They speak so stiffly as they defend the Brotherhood,” she said, “They say they are boycotting the elections of blood.”
As for her, she gave her vote to El-Sisi because “the Brotherhood were a failure! They almost damaged the country and he [El-Sisi] saved the people from them,” she declared, adding that she wasn’t certain the Brotherhood was finished in Egypt and that only El-Sisi would be able to deal with all the looming challenges.
12:15 Egypt's state-run news agency MENA said polling stations in South Sinai also witnessed a low turnout in the early hours of Tuesday.
"Unlike Monday, queues are nowhere to be seen," MENA said.
12:00 Ahram Online's Sherry El-Gergawy said polling stations in Cairo's Zeitoun, Hadayek El-Kobba and Saray El-Kobba districts were almost deserted today.
A low-ranking policeman securing one of the polling stations in El-Kobba suggested that the reason behind the low turnout is "the increased number of polling stations this year, and the hot weather."
"If we put this into consideration, the turnout might be acceptable," he said.
11:45 Army vehicles are playing patriotic songs through loudspeakers in Cairo's Heliopolis district, reports Al-Ahram Arabic, including the new anthem “Boshret Kheir” (“Good Omen”) which has gone viral recently on social networking websites.
The song, by Emirati Hussein Al-Jasmi, aims to build up voter enthusiasm for the elections, telling listeners “your vote will make a difference."
11:20 Two young Christians in the working class district of Imbaba told Ahram Online's Mariam Rizk that they would vote for El-Sisi, who enjoys wide support among Egyptian Coptic Christians.
Naseem Youssef and Hanna Fayez, both in their twenties, said they would feel secure under the rule of the army strongman, who they see as the man capable of restoring stability to Egypt.
11:15 Seventeen out of 1,064 polling stations in Sharqiya governorate opened late, according to judicial sources there.
“The stations that opened their doors late will be kept open after closing time to compensate voters,” the head of the judges’ operation room in the Nile Delta told Al-Ahram, explaining that the delay was because of the late arrival of some judges.
11:00 In the working class district of Imbaba in Cairo, most of the few voters Ahram Online’s Mariam Rizk encountered were women.
"I'm sure that when El-Sisi becomes president there will be job opportunities and all those criminals will be controlled. He has wide experience from his time in the army, which is the country's source of power," said 29-year-old voter Marwa Mohamed.
"Now the youth are not afraid of anything or anyone. I just hope Sisi brings back security and police regain their power," she added.
10:45 Several election-related Arabic hashtags are trending on Twitter in Egypt.
The first one, #Tuesday_for_Hamdeen, calls on young people to vote for the leftist politician, while the second supports El-Sisi. The third, #presidential_sham, is pro-boycott, as is a fourth, #Not_going_down.
10:30 Ahram Online's Mariam Rizk says that several polling stations she visited in the upscale Cairo districts of Zamalek and Agouza were almost deserted.
"We have been in total chaos for the past three years. All of that will change when the man who risked his life for the sake of country [El-Sisi] is in charge. We will not bring back a traitor who wants to sell Egypt," said Mostafa Orany, 55, in reference to former president Mohamed Morsi.
Voter Nadra Zaki, a 65-year-old housewife, commented: "I really hope these elections can change the country and bring back security; this is the most important thing."
10:15 El-Sisi's campaign has urged people not only to vote, but to assist others in finding their way to polling stations.
"Use your laptops and show the people their electoral numbers so that they can vote. Play a role in making the voting process comfortable for them," the campaign said in a post on its official Facebook page.
10:00 According to Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website, several polling stations in Cairo's Ain Shams and Matariya districts -- areas that are regularly the site of fierce clashes between security forces and Morsi supporters -- witnessed a small number of voters in the first hour of voting.
Morning television shows are calling on people incessantly to "take advantage of the day off" and vote.
09:30 Sabahi's campaign remained upbeat about their candidate's chances yesterday, saying that he "remains in serious contention to win the elections," in a statement late on Monday after voting had ended.
The statement called on young people to turn out on Tuesday to back the leftist candidate, arguing that the youth vote will be "the decisive factor in determining the winner."
09:15 As mentioned above, there seem to be several official moves to boost turnout and encourage Egyptians to exercise their right to vote. Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab last night declared that he was bowing to popular pressure to give all government employees the day off to allow them to cast their ballots.
The Presidential Elections Commission has also announced that voting hours will be extended by an hour, with polls set to close at 10pm instead of 9pm.
09:00 Welcome to Ahram Online's live blog. We'll be covering the voting in the second and final day of Egypt's 2014 presidential election, which features two candidates: former military chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and leftist Hamdeen Sabahi.
Monday, the first day of voting, was quieter and more peaceful than many national elections in Egypt have been in the last few years. One IED exploded near a polling station in Fayoum but led to no injuries, while police said another six were defused in three locations including Giza and Kafr El-Sheikh.
There were also some isolated clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, who argue the election is illegitimate. Police dispersed protests in Cairo, Alexandria and Minya, among other places.
There were some reports of electoral violations, but these were limited in scope. Sabahi's campaign claimed security forces prevented some of their representatives from entering polling stations, which prompted them to file official complaints. They also reported that a military vehicle had blared pro-El-Sisi slogans.
El-Sisi's campaign also reported some violations, including delays in opening some polling stations and preventing some of the campaign's representatives from monitoring operations inside polling stations.
There was also much speculation about turnout yesterday; some reported long queues of enthusiastic voters, while others witnessed near empty polling stations. Sabahi's campaign said in a mid-day press conference that its reports indicated a modest turnout but expressed hopes that more people would show up after sundown. They especially urged young people to come out and vote, driven by the belief that young people will back Sabahi.
The pro-Morsi National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy, meanwhile, released a statement saying that many Egyptians had boycotted the vote.
Today will be a public holiday for government employees, according to an announcement last night. That might have an effect on turnout. The judicial body that is overseeing the voting process, the Presidential Election Commission (PEC) has also announced that voting will be extended by an hour today, to 10pm . Either way, we have a full day of voting ahead, with polling stations opening at 9am, and it is probably to early to speculate about overall turnout.
El-Sisi is widely expected to win by a comfortable majority, as he did in last week's expat vote, when he garnered 94.5 percent of the vote.
Source/Fuente: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/102297/Egypt/Politics-/Live...
