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Islamist Leads in Egyptian Presidential Polls

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A candidate from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, Mohamed Mursi, is leading in the landmark presidential race, leaving behind the former prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, after 51 percent of the ballots have been counted.

A candidate from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, Mohamed Mursi, is leading in the landmark presidential race, leaving behind the former prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, after 51 percent of the ballots have been counted.

Egypt held presidential elections on Wednesday and Thursday, 15 months after authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted from the presidential post in a popular uprising in February 2011. The turnout at the elections was about 50 percent of elegible voters.

Mursi, 60, an engineer by profession, has secured almost 31 percent of votes, his representative said in an interview with Misr25 TV channel.

Shafiq, 70, who promised to ensure security in the country if he is elected, has garnered a little over 22 percent, according to the latest statistics released.

An independent candidate, 57-year-old Hamdeen Sabbahi, is in third with 20 percent of the cast votes.

Sabahi has no connections to the Mubarak regime and is popular among many youth movements and the working class. He is considered “an alternative candidate” for those who favor neither Muslims nor Mubarak regime supporters. His campaign slogan was “One of Us.”

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already hailed the elections, saying that they marked “another important milestone” in the transition to democracy.

The polls, which are expected to mark the nation's transition from the present military to a civilian rule, are the first alternative elections since 2005 when Mubarak ensured a landslide victory over other candidates.

Egypt has been run by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) since Mubarak’s ouster in 2011. The military immediately abolished the constitution and dissolved the parliament, promising to pass the rule to civilian authorities after democratic elections.

During the transitional period, the military set up general elections, which were swept by Islamists. At the same time, they failed to agree the basics of the future constitution with political forces, leaving the country without fundamental law.

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