In Egypt, crowds line up for 2-day vote

CAIRO -- More than 15 months after autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak's ouster, Egyptians streamed to polling stations yesterday to freely choose a president for the first time in generations. Waiting hours in line, some debated to the last minute over their vote in a historic election pitting old regime figures against ascending Islamists.

A sense of amazement at having a choice in the Arab world's first truly competitive presidential election pervaded the crowds in line. At the same time, voters were fervent with expectations over where a new leader would take a country that has been in turmoil ever since its ruler for nearly 30 years was toppled by mass protests.

Some backed Mubarak-era veterans, believing they can bring stability after months of rising crime, a crumbling economy and bloody riots. Others were horrified by the thought, believing the "feloul" -- or "remnants" of the regime -- would keep Egypt locked in dictatorship and thwart democracy.

Islamists, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, saw their chance to lead a country where they were repressed for decades and to implement their version of Islamic law. Critics recoiled, fearing theocracy.

"You can't tell me, 'Vote for this or else you're a sinner!' " Wael Ramadan argued with an Islamist-backer in line at a polling station in the impoverished Cairo neighborhood of Basateen. "We never said that," protested the man. "Yes, you did," Ramadan shot back.

"The revolution changed a lot, for good and bad," Ramadan, 40, an employee at a mobile phone company, said afterward. "The good thing is all this freedom. My vote matters. . . . Now we want a president who has a vision."

A field of 13 candidates is running in the two-day voting. A runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17.