Egypt: First multiparty elections

Egypt's first multiparty elections early this month did not yield any surprises as incumbent President Hosni Mubarak retained his position. Despite being declared far from free and fair, the poll was still described as a step forward for a country where opposition candidates have never been given room to operate. “There are violations but in comparison to before, it's much better than we expected,” said Gasser Abdel Razeq, of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights and a vocal government critic. At different polling stations, Mubarak supporters were seen standing over voters as they cast their ballots, while at one polling station, the only person in charge was a party representative sporting a Mubarak button.