Fraud allegations widespread in Egyptian presidential election News
Fraud allegations widespread in Egyptian presidential election

[JURIST] Egyptians voted in the country's first multi-candidate presidential election [JURIST report] Wednesday amid demonstrations and allegations of fraud. Longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [official profile; Wikipedia profile], who is expected to win easily, has touted the election as signaling a move towards democracy in the country where he previously retained his position by referendum vote. Thus far, citizens have alleged that election workers inside polls instructed voters to choose Mubarak or promised food for a Mubarak vote. Other reports of election abuses include pickup trucks with loudspeakers calling for people to vote for Mubarak in apparent violation of the ban on campaigning after Sunday. More than 3,000 people marched through downtown Cairo Wednesday, where police watched from a distance despite government vows the day before that protests would not be allowed. On Tuesday, the Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court overturned a decision [JURIST report] allowing rights groups to monitor polling stations and ruled that the Presidential Election Commission's decisions are not subject to judicial review. AP has more.