Egyptians Head to Polls for Election, Part 2

Historically conservative regions vote today
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2011 11:34 AM CST
Egyptians Head to Polls for Election, Part 2
Egyptians, some are tourist camel riders, line up outside a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011.   (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptians headed to the polls for the second of their three-phase election today, with the likelihood that the Islamists would pull ahead even further. Islamist parties had a strong showing in Egypt's first round of polling, and the regions voting today—which include Giza, Luxor, Aswan, and Ismailia—historically lean toward religious conservatives, CNN reports. One secular party, the Egyptian Bloc, has even tried to capitalize on the lopsided votes, and adopted the slogan "For a more balanced parliament."

So far turnout has been good and largely peaceful, though a gunfight did close one polling station on the outskirts of Cairo, and a dispute led to another shooting near Suez, Reuters reports. No one died in either incident. A few minor irregularities were reported as well, with troops pulling down campaign posters at a Suez polling station, and supervising judges arriving late to 39 polling stations. (More Egypt stories.)

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