OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cairo | Sunday 3.50pm.
EGYPTIANS went to the polls Sunday for a yes-or-no vote aimed at giving a popular stamp of support to a fourth term in office for President Hosni Mubarak.
The 71-year-old leader has pledged to take cautious steps toward democracy, hinted at a cabinet reshuffle and promised to pursue economic reforms, while also pushing for a broader Arab-Israeli peace.
Mubarak, named in June the sole candidate for president by a parliament dominated by his own party, is expected to win more than 90% of the votes for another six years in office. An announcment by a group of 100 leftist intellectuals that intended to vote ”no” amounted to a voice in the wilderness, as all but one party in Egypt’s tiny opposition backed Mubarak’s candidacy for a new term.
An employee for the Eastern Tobacco company who asked not to be named said that workers who did not vote would be punished by the firm. Voters checked a ”green circle” for yes or a black circle for no on paper ballots, which a nearby election official could observe, since few went behind a curtain to mark their choice and fold the paper. Colorful banners and posters displayed on virtually every street of the capital urged Egyptians to vote ”yes.”
Critics said the pro-Mubarak banners were raised by those who were asked to do so by municipal officials or by those trying to promote their own businesses and political careers.
Accompanied by his wife and two sons, the Egyptian leader was seen casting his own ballot at a polling station set up in a school near his residence in northern Cairo. Mubarak, who performs morning workouts and who has no reported ailments, appeared fit and in good health.
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