Mubarak wins Egyptian presidential vote

Mubarak wins Egyptian presidential vote

Hosni Mubarak has won a fifth term in Egypt's first contested presidential poll, with more than 88 per cent of the vote.

However, only 23 per cent of voters turned out and opponents claim the results were rigged.

Official results announced by the election commission gave the 77-year-old leader 88.5 per cent of the vote.

The second and third place getters claimed they had received more votes than officially announced, and plan to challenge the results.

Wednesday's race, in which Mr Mubarak faced nine mostly unknown rivals, was the first time Egyptians were able to choose between more than one presidential candidate.

The election enlivened political debate and led to scathing public criticism of Mr Mubarak, but many Egyptians said they would not bother voting because the outcome was assured and they feared rigging by the Government.

The turnout figure was roughly in line with assessments by independent monitors, who said the Government had inflated these figures in past votes to lend them credibility.

Rights groups said there were widespread abuses on election day but not enough to invalidate the result.

Under the old system, parliament chose Mr Mubarak as the sole presidential candidate and people voted in a yes-no referendum.

He decided to change the system this year after the United States and domestic groups pressed for political change.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1457383.htm